Rescue centre closes but its HART beats on
12:20pm Thursday 5th June 2008
A SUCCESSFUL animal hospital that has looked after thousands of vulnerable animals for more than a decade has had to close its doors.
HART Wildlife Rescue, in Dellands, Overton, was forced to stop taking new admissions after founding member June Gibbs' mother was taken ill.
Mrs Gibbs, 61, who had been running the centre from her home, found it impossible to care for her mother due to the 24-hour on-call nature of the job.
She said: "After 12 fantastic years, I just can't keep up with everything.
"It's a very demanding job and, as much as it pains me, we've had to stop taking new admissions.
"We had no idea it would take off in such a big way and we've experienced some wonderful things that we wouldn't have otherwise seen.
"We've helped rear thousands of animals and provided a very important service."
Mrs Gibbs said she and her team of volunteers had welcomed a variety of creatures over the years, such as fox cubs, hedgehogs and owls - the most unusual being a concussed stoat, as they are not normally caught.
A few animals are still being cared for at the centre, where they will be reared until they are ready to be released. These include three tawny owl chicks, which were found wandering last month after possibly falling out of their nests.
It is thought that two of the chicks are siblings, as they were both found in Micheldever, while the other one was found in Preston Candover. They will remain at the centre until August.
There are even a few animals that won't be leaving at all. Gladys the duck arrived seven years ago as a day-old duckling and is now one of the family. Last year, she played surrogate mother to a total of 73 ducklings.
Pigeons Sharon and Ozzy also have a permanent home at the centre. Each has a deformed wing, Ozzy has an eye missing and Sharon only has one foot.
Mrs Gibbs said Ozzy even acted as the hospital's guard, keeping watch over the other patients.
She added: "The sad thing is that when people find vulnerable animals and take them to the vet, they are usually told to bring them here. Now I don't know what will happen."
However, there is hope for the future, as the registered charity has started a fundraising drive for purpose-built premises, for which plans and costings are still being considered.
Volunteers will also continue to visit schools to offer advice on wildlife care.
Councillor Paula Baker, the borough councillor for Overton, Laverstoke and Steventon, who is a trustee of the wildlife rescue centre, said: "We all see it as just a temporary closure of the animal hospital and it has caused us to redouble our efforts in finding a new purpose-built centre.
"The level of need for it in the area is huge and, unfortunately, that's what's caused it to close. It's impossible for it to continue to work from a domestic back garden.
"We're all hugely grateful to the dedication of June, who has provided somewhere for the animals for all these years and now she needs some more time and energy to devote to her own life."