Our Future

As many of you will know, we found out in December last year that the building we currently rent - the former Church of England Primary School at Horton in Ribblesdale - is likely to be put up for sale. By now, we were hoping to have some degree of clarity on what might happen next, but unfortunately we are still waiting to hear.

"The uncertainty is having a huge effect on us as an organisation," says Jane Carpenter, Co-founder. "It's extremely stressful not being able to plan our next steps and the impact this is having on the Trustees is enormous. We are extremely lucky that we are a close team that proactively supports each other - something that has made a huge difference in our determination to carry on."

"Whether we can stay where we are, or have to move, our number one priority is the animals in our care," adds Penny Hunt, Co-founder. "If we have to move, we have a huge logistical and financial challenge ahead of us. We have to be optimistic, though, and hope that our number one choice - ie staying where we are - is still a possibility. The professional wildlife hospital we have created here delivers not only some of the best wildlife care in the country, but enables us to release more patients back into the wild than most other rescues in the UK. The majority of the species we help save are endangered or vulnerable species or those facing conservation challenges, such as IUCN Red List British Mammals, red- or amber-listed Birds of Conservation Concern (BoCC) and European Protected Species (EPS). This has to be of huge value to the current and future ecology of the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding areas."

We have recently received support from Sir Julian Smith MP, who said we “play a vital role in protecting wildlife across the Dales”; and Councillor David Staveley, Councillor for Settle and Pen-y-ghent, who called us “a major player in wildlife rescue in the North [with] a vital role in the protection and conservation of species that are under threat.”

We hope that, before too long, we have some clarity on our future. We appreciate every ounce of support we receive from the public - it means the world to us - and as soon as we are able to update you on what is happening, we will.