Appeal from animal sanctuary in Brentwood affected by coronavirus pandemic

A donkey called Peter Pan is one of the animals rescued by the sanctuary

An animal sanctuary in Brentwood is appealing for donations after suffering financial hardship due to Covid-19.

Hopefield Animal Sanctuary, in Sawyers Hall Lane, has been unable to open due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The sanctuary provides a home and care for over 500 sick and mistreated animals.

Funding is usually raised over various fun days or visitors throughout the summer, however due to the unprecedented circumstances, events had to be cancelled.

General manager, Lianne Angliss, said: “On a good fun day, we can raise about £7000 to £8000. Usually we have around six of them a year, plus what we’re open during the summer as well.

“At the moment, we’ve given ourselves a target of £320,000 to raise in a year. That’s to make sure that if, for whatever reason, we don’t reopen at all this year, we know we’re going to be OK.

“Feeding, vet fees; that doesn’t stop. Just because we haven’t got the public, we still have a duty of care to the animals.

“At the moment we can’t open to the public because of Covid-19, so we’re asking people to help whether it’s donating money, food or just supporting us and sending our stories around the community so people know about us.”

The sanctuary has a variety of exotic animals and birds

Animals are taken to the sanctuary for various reasons.

Lianne said: “Some people sadly pass away, so their circumstances change but the majority are people not understanding what they’re taking on and what the needs of the animals are before they get them in the first place.”

“A lot of people know Hopefield for their horses and goats but over the past few years we’ve taken on more exotic animals as well.”

A donkey called Peter Pan is one of the animals rescued by the sanctuary after being found by a police officer on patrol.

Lianne said: “Peter Pan came to us a few years ago. It was pure chance that someone found him. 

“He was in a sorry state. He was in a stable that hadn’t been cleaned out for what looked like a couple of months. He had urine burns all over his back from where he’d been rolling around the stable.”

Peter Pan has recovered well and is safe at the sanctuary.

To support Hopefield, head to their website or social media pages.

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