A wildlife rescue charity based in Soham has bought equipment that has ‘been on their wish-list for some time’ thanks to fundraising efforts by the community.
The Cambridgeshire Wildlife Care team saw that incubator manufacturers were offering a 15 per cent discount on equipment for hedgehog carers in the month of May.
Staff at the care centre say the equipment “has been on their wish-list for some time” but it “remained their due to financial constraints”.
Tara Livermore, co-founder, said: “The incubators are used by wildlife rescue centres worldwide and provide the gold standard in care for the most vulnerable of admissions.
“When we saw that the manufacturer was offering the discount, we thought it was the perfect time to start fundraising.”
The community got behind the campaign, arranging bake sales, competitions and donating goods and services to help the cause and in just one week the amount needed had been raised.
Tara added: “We were completely overwhelmed by the amount of support we received, and it was a lovely shock when we found that we’d reached our target by mid-May!
“With the funds still coming in, we started to realise that it might be possible for us to offer intensive care facilities to more than one animal at a time.”
The charity, which is run by a small team of volunteers, admitted 191 animals and birds last year and after a busy start to 2018, the total could be closer to 300 this year.
Tara added: “The demand for wildlife rescue and rehabilitation services in this area is incredibly high. There are very few of us doing it, and the need always seems to outweigh the resources available.
“We have a five-year development plan, which will enable us to help more animals and birds year on year, so we know that both incubators will be well-used.
“Having one incubator was a dream, but having two will allow us to provide specialist care to even more of our local wildlife. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make this happen.
“Cambridgeshire Wildlife Care is a charity dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife in Ely and the surrounding area.
“We care for orphaned, injured, ill and abandoned animals with the aim of returning them to the wild.”
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