A desperate animal sanctuary says its rescued animals could starve after Britain’s drought left its fields completely bare.
The Hakuna Matata Animal Trust says it was in a critical emergency after weeks of hot, dry weather killed all the grass at its sanctuary.
The charity is spending around £500 a week on extra feed while soaring veterinary bills and rising costs threaten its future.
READ MORE: Two-headed gecko Simon and Garfunkel defies odds as BOTH heads eat independently
They care for different species including pigs, rabbits, alpacas and sheep in Marldon, near Paignton, Devon.
Founder Hayley Prescott said the prolonged heatwave had devastated the sanctuary, as reported by Need To Know.
She said: “The heatwave has completely destroyed all our grass, meaning that despite moving half our sheep off-site to other grazing and rotating our paddocks, all the grass has completely gone.
“And I don’t mean that we’re low on grass.
I mean our land is completely bare of any.
“We are in a critical emergency situation where it feels like we are now fighting a losing battle.
“We have been in a continuous heatwave since the end of May with temperatures at the sanctuary reaching as high as 36 degrees.
“The temperatures have scorched the land so much that even moving half our animals to other sites to graze, they are now completely out of grass and our land has been left barren.
“We are getting through an extortionate amount of water to try and keep our animals cool and well hydrated.
“All of this has come at a huge cost financially to the sanctuary with having to buy in extra feed to supplement their lack of grazing and where we once had a small contingency fund in the bank for back up, that has now been depleted and left us in an awfully worrying situation.
“Aside from helping hundreds of animals in need, we also help the wider community by having Duke of Edinburgh students, SEN children, home education families and adults with learning difficulties and people from social prescribers to help them back into the wider community.
“The sanctuary has given these people hope and a place they feel safe, as well as the animals and if we have to close it will affect them massively too.
“When I started this journey I had money in the bank and this burning desire in my heart to help as many animals as I could.
“I didn’t go into this lightly and have built it up gradually over the last five years to what it has become today, but never in a million years thought my dream would be so hard.
“It has been back-breakingly hard physically, emotionally devastating and financially crippling.”
She said the charity has also had to spend more creating shade for animals and keeping pigs cool with mud baths, while water bills have soared.
At the same time, the sanctuary has been hit by repeated emergencies.
The charity said it has now exhausted its funds despite launching an emergency appeal.
“Our weekly feed bill is £500 and with all the veterinary care needed, we need help on a larger scale but no one seems to want to help.
“It feels unfair to feel this beautiful place that has helped so many animals – and people – slipping away from us so rapidly.
“We may be a small sanctuary but we have helped hundreds and hundreds of animals, as well as children, adults with learning disabilities, home education families and people referred through social prescribing.
“This is all done voluntarily 24/7 from a place of love and our sanctuary just needs some back now.
“The thought of having to rehome every rescued animal if the sanctuary closes is terrifying.”
READ MORE: World’s first octopus farm SCRAPPED over ‘cruel’ slaughter method
