Wildlife rescue charity launches urgent appeal

The charity is currently caring for dozens of foxes, hedgehogs, pigeons and birds of prey

A wildlife rescue charity has launched an urgent fundraising appeal to find a new home.

Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue (OWR), which rescues and looks after sick, injured and orphaned wild animals, said it needed £250,000 to buy its own land.

The charity has been given notice to leave its current location by October 2024 due to "uncertainties with the future of the farm".

Founder Luke Waclawek said it was the charity's mission to keep "this vital service".

Charity founder Luke Waclawek said the charity's motto was "every patient matters"

OWR rescues between 3,000 - 4,000 creatures every year, including voles, garden birds, hedgehogs and deer.

The charity said it had grown "exponentially" since 2017 thanks to public donations.

Over the last couple of years it has been renting land for its wildlife casualty centre in Blewbury.

But Mr Waclawek said "sadly for both parties, the tenancy can no longer carry on".

He added: "Wildlife matters, and now our mission is to ensure that we can keep this vital service not only continuous but to expand, develop and ensure a legacy for future generations to come."

He said the charity had located "a patch of land which ticks all the boxes for the charity" that would enable OWR to expand but needed the cash to secure it.