Sanctuary turning animals away as eviction looms

Trustee Amy Clare said they were urgently seeking a field for horses Oakley and Jazz, chickens and a pig

An animal sanctuary has said it is turning animals away daily, with just days to go until it is evicted.

Fur and Feathers was given notice by its landlord to vacate its premises in Wythall, Worcestershire, last month.

Trustee Amy Clare said it had still not found an alternative site and foster carers for its cats, wildfowl and chickens were in short supply.

"There's always going to be animals out there to help and unfortunately at the moment we're limited," she said.

Volunteers are dismantling and selling off pens and fencing to clear the land

Trustees said they were being pushed to leave as soon as possible after finding out on 25 February the charity's lease would not be renewed.

The volunteers are dismantling and selling off fencing and enclosures, and said they would have to start from scratch after 14 years.

Six foster homes for cats are full, says the charity, which cares for about 70 animals

"Everyone's heartbroken. This place means so much to all of us," said hospitality worker Ms Clare, who started helping at the charity four years ago. "Being here just gave me something to focus on - it's completely changed my life.

"We've seen animals that are injured and completely petrified of humans and the transformation they make into trusting people again - it's such a rewarding thing."

Porky, a 12-year-old Kunekune, has only ever lived at the Wythall sanctuary

Ensuring its cats are resettled has been "time consuming" for volunteers, said Ms Clare, and the charity has also experienced issues when posting online pleas for help.

"We're getting quite a lot of trolls on Facebook and things - spreading loads of lies and making stuff up, which is really not helping," she said.

In addition, the sanctuary is urgently seeking temporary grazing for two horses and a Kunekune pig after a previous offer of help fell through.

About £9,950 has been raised through crowdfunding, which will go towards starting afresh, caring for the animals and storing belongings, but its offer to buy the land was rejected, the charity says.

The BBC has approached the landlord for comment.