- By Chloé Harcombe and Steve Kitchen
- BBC News
Dachshunds Animal Sanctuary says huge energy bills could force it to close
The director of a wildlife sanctuary says they are at breaking point due to the cost of living crisis.
Dachshunds Animal Sanctuary is an independent charity based in Whitminster that takes in abandoned cats and dogs.
Falling donations and rising costs mean they have to find between £11-12,000 more a month to survive.
Center director Sarah Johnson said: “There is an urgent need for these funds to enable us to stabilize.”
“We just want to be there for all these animals who need us now and in the years to come,” she added.
The center aims to raise £100,000
Like many people across the country, Ms Johnson said the sanctuary had experienced a “massive increase in costs” in terms of salaries, vet bills and food.
Ms Johnson said the organization had also seen an increase in people bringing their pets for rehoming.
She said many owners can’t afford to own animals right now and some people are abandoning animals they adopted during the pandemic.
Ms Johnson said: “It would be an absolute disaster if we weren’t here to continue to help all these people and animals in need. »
She said it was the worst animal abandonment she had ever experienced, in her 10 years of animal rescue.
The charity, established in 2003, relies on donations from the public, but Ms Johnson said the amount of donations had fallen due to the current cost of living crisis.
Running the animal sanctuary costs £45,000 a month and the charity is unable to get financial help from the government.
“We rely on the kindness of the public, the support of our volunteers and even our staff doing everything they can,” Ms Johnson said.