A British animal rescue service faces closure, leaving 300 vulnerable creatures at risk of becoming homeless.
Cornpop Critter Rescue, in Frome, Somerset, cares for hundreds of domestic, exotic and wild animals.
But the voluntary organisation currently operates from a small plot belonging to the grandparents of team member Lorraine Parker.
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Their declining health means the arrangement cannot continue indefinitely, leaving the rescue desperately searching for a permanent base.
“If we are unable to secure land in the future, we won’t be able to run and the entire rescue will be lost,” Lorraine told What’s The Jam.
“Everything we’ve all worked hard for would be lost, and some of us have rescued and rehabilitated animals for over 15 years.
“Where we are based is not practical as a long-term solution.”
The team rehabilitated animals privately for years before Cornpop became a full-scale rescue after its social media page unexpectedly took off in 2018.
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It now has approximately 300 animals in its care at any one time, although Lorraine stressed they vary greatly in size and include around 40 small geckos.
Many are elderly, disabled or terminally ill and could not easily be rehomed.
“The majority of the animals here would lose their friends, their family and anything they’ve ever known,” said Lorraine.
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“There are animals here that have established friendship groups and bonds with others of their kind, which we’ve worked hard to match so they are not alone.
“If we lose the rescue, they will need to be split up to find somewhere capable of taking them.
“This would be incredibly stressful for them, as well as sad.”
Cornpop also rehabilitates hundreds of wild animals each year.
The team says it has released badgers, moorhens, hedgehogs, owls, woodpeckers and deer this year alone.
However, restricted space and the homeowners’ health have already forced it to reduce admissions.
“This year, we have had to turn quite a few animals away and we definitely haven’t wanted to,” she said.
“Not operating as usual is already costing animals their lives because they are not getting help quickly enough,” she said.
“If we lose our base, there are thousands of animals that will suffer every year because we will be unable to take them in.”
Among the rescue’s long-term residents is Mabel, a disabled dachshund found dumped on a doorstep in Exeter on Christmas Eve when she was five weeks old.
She is missing bones in her hind legs but is described as remarkably fast and full of life.
Lorraine said: “You’d think she had no quality of life, but it’s quite the opposite.
“For animals like her, losing their home would mean losing the only safety they have ever known with people who understand them.”
The rescue has identified what it describes as the “perfect” plot of land, but it is on the market for £175,000.
Its GoFundMe appeal has raised £4,500 of an initial £8,000 target.
The money will be put towards securing land and eventually creating purpose-built enclosures, barns and shelters.
Lorraine added: “With this land, we could ensure permanent stability for the animals and create a rescue that will be here to help animals long after us.”
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