This article isn’t all about cats although of course as always, Kays Hill is overflowing with cats and kittens at present. But it does affect cats, because Kevin has to find the money for the following licences he has been told he must have.
The more money handed over for these bits of official paper the less to spend on the animals and the less number of animals they can help at Kays Hill. But he has no choice.
- A Pet Shop licence – So that the public can be allowed onto the Sanctuary site more than 7 days in a year.
This one also covers asking for donations, such as at the forthcoming Halloween Party to raise funds, admission is free but donations are welcome. It will also cover the sale of pet carriers, litter trays, etc. - A performing animal licence – To enable Kays Hill volunteers to go into schools and to fund raising events and fetes, with animals allowed out of their travelling cage in public.
- A falconry licence – To enable them to take a bird out of its flight in an area the public may have access to.
- A vehicle licence – For transporting any animal around, be it to the vets, to events, or to collect when rescuing.
Each of these licences cost £100 (160 dollars) plus vets fees!
It’s almost as if DEFRA want to make it harder, if not impossible, for Animal Sanctuaries to continue rescuing and caring for needy animals and to raise money to keep going. Also to do the very important work of educating people, especially children, as to the right way to treat animals.
Many animals and birds live unhappy lives or are abandoned simply because of people not knowing how to care for them properly. Being able to reach out to children at schools and at events is very important to the future animals in the care of those children. Also children are very good at educating their parents too.
We visited Kays Hill the other day with some cat food we had for them and as always, Kevin, Leanne and Dan were hard at work, they and their volunteers put in long hours and with winter coming on it’s not at all pleasant working outdoors most of the time.
Bureaucrats sitting in their cosy offices don’t care about that, they just come up with more ideas to get money out of Sanctuaries like Kays Hill, knowing they will have no choice but to find it somehow.
It’s not so long since Kevin was ordered to put fences up between different species, thankfully in the recent gale force winds only one and a shed blew down.
Those people sitting in their offices making costly rules and regulations have no idea what hard work and worry is, I think they should spend a day at an Animal Sanctuary and find out.
Well I’ve heard it all now! All at Kays Hill have to do a training day as part of these licences, Training to do what they have been doing for years! Crazy!
I think Kevin and Leanne could teach those trainers more than they will ever know.
The good news is that through kind donations, even small ones which are adding up, they have raised half the money they need for the licences.
It’s very hard with people needing help too with Christmas not so far off. In our own town ‘Peoples Centre’ they are asking for donations to make sure poor people get good cheap dinners throughout December.
We don’t have much but this reminds me that we have more than some.
When it is a financial struggle you don’t need extra costs. I get the impression that sometimes small animal charities run on a financial knife edge.
Good grief!
lol that says it all Dee xx
I totally agree with Michaels comment on cat behaviour we find when cats come into rescue already labelled by previous owners, their behaviour and temperament does change dramatically once they settle into a safe environment and a steady routine as most cats are creatures of habit we find cats can tell the time better than us, this is also why we try and keep the same volunteers feeding and cleaning cats as something as simple as a strange volunteers that smells of the wrong perfume or their own cats can have a dramatic effect on a unstable resident and knock them back even set them off spraying in their pens