Funding Crisis Closures
We have seen a massive drop in funding over the past 12 months and despite various appeals and pleas, the situation has only become more dire. ALL our reserve funding has gone and we can no longer sustain a monthly deficit of around £3,000 each month. We have absolutely no other option but to close our rodent cabin and significantly reduce the number of rabbits housed at any one time. All at the worst time in living memory for animal rescues.
To keep Nibbles open and running at full capacity incurs a monthly cost of between £3,500-£4,500. This covers feed, bedding, cleaning supplies, enrichment, veterinary fees, electric, office supplies, insurance, software subscriptions, and staff to provide essential care. We have cut back in every area possible without compromising the welfare of the animals and the only viable option, at this time, is to reduce the number of animals at the centre, to further reduce our running costs.
Beau is just one of hundreds who've been thrown out like trash over the past few months! Left in a box in a local carpark, during the heatwave, this lovely bun was lucky to be found safe and well and taken to our friends at Priory Vets Cardigan. He is the last bun we can accept into our for the foreseeable future. What will happen to the next bun to be dumped?
We do not want to be making these closures. We are well aware that animals will lose their lives as a result. We have absolutely no other choice as we are financially unable to continue run at full capacity without seriously compromising the overall welfare of the animals in our care.
Nibbles was the first specialist rescue dedicated to rodents and rabbits in South West Wales and to date we remained the only source of vitally needed support to these forgotten companion animals. Rodents now face a bleak and desperate future without our dedicated rodent cabin and as a team we are devastated to be leaving them stranded without any hope of experienced rescue support.
During the pandemic, with people home and bored, many purchased new pets to keep them entertained. Rescues watched in horror, knowing all to well, that many of the animals would end up unwanted once the world reopened and people returned to their 'normal' lives. Coupled with the cost of living crisis, we are now in absolute crisis and there has never been a more desperate time in living memory. More animals than ever before are in urgent need of rescue support, hundreds are being dumped every week around the UK, rescues are full to bursting and many, like ourselves, are being forced to downsize or close altogether.
So many jumped on the band wagon during lockdown, thinking to make a quick buck by breeding their pets and charging premium prices. The market became saturated and the demand for animals dropped dramatically. Our crisis started with requests for help with unsold litters and unwanted adult breeding stock, with the breeders now wishing to give up.
Rodents and rabbits simply don't engender the same level of passion compared to dogs and cats. They may be popular companion animals but they are generally dismissed by larger rescue organisations and the general public. Gaining the support we need to keep Nibbles open and running has always been a huge challenge, despite the desperate need for our services, to keep these delightful animals safe, well and cared for. We have no other option but to continue to turn animals away, knowing all too well many will suffer greatly as a result.
You are the one who can make a difference to their lives.
You are the one who can save them from an uncertain and scary future. You are the one who can save their lives!
They need you more today than they've ever needed you before. So please join us in caring for these little lives and making a big difference to their futures, because we literally can't to it without you.