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Region and town operating in: Badby, Northamptonshire
Employee numbers: none Volunteer numbers: 15 Income per annum: Around £5,200 in donations Beneficiaries: Animals in need of care Activities of the organisation: Tall Trees Animal Sanctuary cares for and maintains the wellbeing of animals that have been donated or are in need of special care due to neglect. Animals cared for at the sanctuary include horses, ponies, goats, sheep, a variety of birds, chickens that were previously battery hens, ducks, pigs, cats and dogs. Volunteers help to muck out the horses, feed the animals and provide the love and attention that they need. Often parents will bring children to the sanctuary to help care for the animals and ride the ponies. Various friends of the sanctuary will give donations towards the upkeep in order to ride the horses. Tall Trees Animal Sanctuary also helps out young people as well as caring for the animals. Many young people have completed work experience placements and volunteered as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award. In September of 2011, the sanctuary will be welcoming children with special needs to volunteer their time to care for the animals. The sanctuary was founded by Anne Blackett and her partner when they purchased a piece of land from a gentleman on the agreement that they would also take possession of the emaciated horse that was grazing on the land. From this first step the couple began the Tall Trees Animal Sanctuary, where through word of mouth they rescue and take care of animals. They provide the animals with a comfortable and secure retirement. The sanctuary cares for around 70 different animals, each with their own story, many are too old to be rehomed and are looking for a pleasant place to live, which the Tall Trees Animal Sanctuary provides. Recently the sanctuary partnered with a local plant nursery, resulting in a mutually beneficial partnership. Tall Trees has been able to benefit from the increased awareness of their sanctuary amongst local people, also the nursery now has an added dimension to the services that they provide for their customers. Locals have welcomed the partnership with open arms and been especially supportive. Funding cuts recently: The sanctuary does not receive funding from any sources other than donations. What are your relationships like with your local authority and/or other funders: Relationships with Badby Parish Council can be prickly at times. The sanctuary has often come up against negativity towards their activities. Planning permission to build new animal shelters has often been met with resistance from the Parish Council. Daventry District Council however, has always been a supportive and approved planning permission for various shelters. Organisation’s challenges: Animal charities often find it difficult to get funding and often donations are not enough to cover the up keep of the sanctuary. Donations from people who ride the horses usually covers farriers’ costs, however the horses cost in the region of £700 every six weeks for shoes alone. In the winter the cost of running the sanctuary increases by around £300 - £400 per month. Anne and her partner have to put their own money in to keep the sanctuary going. Future plans for the sanctuary include offering riding opportunities for disabled people, Anne wishes to diversify the range of services that they offer and increase their client group. This will help to get more people involved in the sanctuary and share the humbling and beneficial experience of looking after the animals. By expanding the diversity of the clientele the sanctuary would also be able to expand their options in terms of funding opportunities and this is something that they will be looking into. Another challenge that the sanctuary has had to face is putting up housing for the animals. They are situated in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which means that they have had to fight hard for any changes that they wanted to make or to erect any buildings needed for shelter. Views on the Big Society / VCS sector: Anne’s personal thoughts are that local and national government underestimate the difference to peoples’ lives animal care and animal sanctuaries can make. “The process of caring for animals can lift people’s sprits and help build up self esteem. Nationally, the government do not recognise how helpful working with animals can be and as a result do not promote how beneficial it can be to a person” said Anne. This is reinforced by the fact that there is limited funding available to organisations whose focus is animal care. This is something that needs addressing.
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Events calendar
| Sun May 20 @08:00 - 05:00PM Remember Dementia Awareness Week |
| Mon May 21 @08:00 - 05:00PM Remember Dementia Awareness Week |
| Tue May 22 @08:00 - 05:00PM Remember Dementia Awareness Week |
NVC Northants - State of the sector report|
Tall Trees Animal Sanctuary
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