At a recent meeting at the headquarters of the Woodside Animal Welfare Trust in Elfordleigh, Plymouth Freemasons from Courtland Lodge who meet in Paignton presented a cheque for £350 to Cora Harvey Kennel Supervisor at the trust.
The cheque was presented by Phil Greenway the Charity Steward of Courtland Lodge who was accompanied by David Froud, both of whom own rescue dogs themselves, many other members of the Lodge are or have been members of the services and include dog handlers.
The cost of caring for a large number of animals adds up quickly, and this donation from The Freemasons' will go towards purchasing food for the animals. One large bag of dog food costs at least £55, so the Trust are always grateful for help covering these costs.
The Woodside Animal Welfare Trust was founded by Carole Bowles MBE some forty years ago, and cares for many different species of animals, these include Dogs, Cats, Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Sheep, Pigs and many more. The trust is run mainly by volunteers but still incurs huge costs, mainly for veterinary and food requirements as many of the animals have health conditions and care needs that require extra time and money.
Increased Costs
In recent years animal sanctuaries have seen soaring costs as the intake of animals is continuing to rise. Woodside Animal Welfare Trust, based in Elfordleigh Plymouth, is recording the highest number of animals in their care since before the pandemic.
Currently the local sanctuary is caring for a total of 192 animals on site, with fourteen different animal species. The founder of Woodside Animal Welfare Trust, Carole Bowles MBE said the increase is 'very worrying' and further explained that it must be due to the increased cost of living.
Carole also said the rising number of small and large animals at the shelter is one of their biggest concerns as they count for over half the number of intakes. She also said from the sanctuary's own experience, and from looking at national statistics, rabbits continue to be one of the most neglected pets.
Overdue Repairs
Outside of the day to day care of this large number of animals, the trust is also trying to fund general repairs of the housing for the animal. The outside cattery is suffering from a leaky roof, sadly not just in one spot but many as the current roofing is long overdue replacement. The cattery, affectionately known as ‘The Cottage Block’ is a wooden block, which currently has a bitumen corrugated roof. This will be replaced by galvanised roof sheeting, which has a much longer lifespan.
If the intake increases further then the sanctuary will struggle both financially, and with space which is what inspired the members of Courtland lodge to make their donation at this time.
