Bright Eyes Animal Sanctuary has been helping animals in Co Fermanagh for over 35 years
An animal sanctuary is appealing for support as it faces the risk of closure after 35 years of helping cats and dogs in the county.
Bright Eyes Animal Sanctuary, which was set up by animal lover Pat Nolan in 1989, is under pressure due to facing a number of rising costs which include vet and energy bills as they aim to support cats and dogs in need of a new home.
The sanctuary currently has monthly operating costs of around £18,000 and is struggling to bring in the funding that it needs to pay this every month. These costs cover the bills with the sanctuary also having a small team of part-time staff who look after the animals and help to rehome them.
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Speaking to Belfast Live, Sanctuary trustee Lindsey Peters said Bright Eyes is the only rescue for cats in Co Fermanagh and alongside looking after sick animals and helping others find new homes, the staff and volunteers also travel the country in order to bring in strays.
She said: “Bright Eyes was started by Pat Nolan over 35 years ago who dedicated his life to looking after animals. A Lot of the funding that the sanctuary received came from people leaving legacy donations to him due to the work that he did caring for cats and dogs.
“However in recent years it has got harder to keep the sanctuary going due to rising costs of energy and vet bills
“At the moment we are the only sanctuary for cats in the whole of Fermanagh and we want to continue to be here but we need some support or we will have to close our doors in the coming months.
“We launched a Gofundme appeal to help a few days ago and so far the response that we have had to it has been incredible, and we are very grateful to everyone who has donated. Everything helps us to continue to help sick, injured and stray cats in Co Fermanagh.”
If you would like to donate to the Bright Eyes Animal Sanctuary Appeal you can do so via this link.
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