Month: March 2019

Sussex band supports Wadars 50th anniversary

Sussex-based five-piece band, The Cheer Up Mollys, are staging a fundraising concert in aid of the Wadars 50th anniversary at The John Selden pub in Half Moon Lane, Salvington, at 7.30pm on Saturday 6th April. 

The folk, acoustic, and Americana band features vocal harmonies accompanied by guitar, ukulele, mandolin and bass, with song choices ranging from bluegrass and country to acoustic pop songs. Tickets for the concert are priced at £7.50 in advance or £9 on the night. Advance tickets can be purchased from either The John Selden, the Wadars office in Hangleton Lane, Ferring, or from the band via www.thecheerupmollys.co.uk 

 

High Sheriff of West Sussex officially opens new Wadars rehoming cattery as part of the charity’s 50th anniversary celebrations

The High Sheriff of West Sussex, Mrs Caroline Nicholls DL officially opened the brand-new Wadars rehoming cattery at a ceremony which was held last week. Other VIPs at the event include the Chair of Arun District Council Cllr Alan Gammon and The Mayor & Mayoress of Worthing.

The cattery is part of the first phase of development at the charity’s site in Hangleton Lane, Ferring, which has also included creation of a small wildlife unit in which to house wild birds, hedgehogs and other small mammals until they can be released back into the wild.

The new purpose-built rehoming cattery can hold up to 34 cats and each pen consists of a large bedroom area leading to an enclosed run. With each pen individually heated, the bedroom can be closed off from the run during periods of cold weather. Several pens have lift-out sections which effectively join two areas together meaning that larger groups of cats can be accommodated if they have come from the same home.

Wadars Chair of Trustees, Christie McMahon, said; “We are absolutely delighted to have opened our new cattery and having the High Sheriff to do the honours for us was the icing on the cake. Rehoming animals from our own site has been a dream for a number of years, and to be able to open the cattery as part of our 50th birthday celebrations is just fantastic.”

Christie continued; “The next step for us is to build a large aviary in which to house seabirds until they can be released, and we plan to have this in place around June time before we are inundated with gull chicks. Future development plans include building kennels, a centre reception, an education room, and an animal assessment room, as well as developing a larger wildlife area. Sadly, we don’t currently have the funds to carry out that additional development yet but hope that local people will get behind us and help to raise the money that’s needed.”

Other guests at the official opening included representatives from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, which has awarded a grant to Wadars to help pay for some of the equipment within the new cattery. Margaret Hulme, Grants Manager at Battersea added; “We hope that this grant will help make a real difference to the lives of cats and dogs in the community. Battersea helps more than 7,000 dogs and cats each year, at our three centres in London, Berkshire and Kent and beyond. We want to support rescues and shelters in the UK, not only by awarding funding, but also by sharing the experiences and knowledge we have gained as an animal welfare charity that has been rescuing and rehoming animals for 158 years.”

To find out about adopting a cat or finding a new home for your cat if you are unable to keep it, contact Wadars on 01903 247111.

Silly Season comes around every year, just like clockwork!

Staff at Wadars animal rescue are so sure they can set their clocks by the influx of orphaned and injured seagull chicks that they are called out to rescue each year, that they even hold a competition to guess the exact day that the first one will come in!

Animal rescue officer, Elaine Sinclair commented; “The last week of May is usually when we can expect to have to rescue the first gull chick. The majority of them will have fallen from the roof where they have been nesting. By the end of the summer last year we had dealt with more than 600 birds. We refer to it as Silly Season, as we are literally run off our feet rescuing the chicks.”

Elaine added; “Wherever possible we will always put the gull chick back up onto the roof that it fell from, but sometimes that isn’t possible, and in those cases we get them checked by a vet and then either care for them at our own site, or find a place at another wildlife centre until they are old enough to be released.” 

Support Wadars’ 50th
anniversary by taking up the 50/50 Challenge

Wadars animal rescue, based in Ferring, has been rescuing wildlife and rehoming companion animals for the last 50 years, and is now calling on local people to help raise vital funds for its work by taking up its ‘50/50 Challenge’.

It costs Wadars more than £400,000 a year to provide its services in the local community, and the charity relies on voluntary contributions to bring that money in. More than 90p in every £1 spent by the charity goes directly on animal welfare.

Wadars Operations Manager, Tracy Cadman said; “The Wadars 50/50 Challenge is a really simple way for anyone to support us during our 50th anniversary year. Basically, we are just asking people to raise £50 for us in whichever way suits them. Even if people were able to donate just £1 a week then over the course of the year, they would reach the £50 target.

There are so many ways that people can raise the £50, for example they might want to make a one-off donation which would be amazing, alternatively they could take part in an event such as Walk for Wadars and raise the money through sponsorship or even hold a coffee morning with friends and family.”

Tracy added; “It might not seem as if £50 helps very much in the overall scheme of things, but it could pay for a wildlife pen in which to house an injured hedgehog until it could be released back into the wild; or for a cat that we take in for rehoming to receive a vet check and flea and worm treatment. Every £50 raised will affect the life of at least one animal in our care.”

Wadars will provide support for anyone taking up the 50/50 Challenge and in addition to advice, can supply sponsor forms; collecting tins; balloons; and blank posters for people to use to promote their challenge.

To find out more about taking up the Wadars 50/50 Challenge, call 01903 247111 or email enquiries@wadars.co.uk