A privately run animal sanctuary in Minster is facing closure unless enough funds can be raised to buy the land they currently rent or to purchase another nearby site.
Katie Leverett currently cares for two horses, four foxes, three pigs and six cats and takes in some 60 wild birds or foxes for rehabilitation and release every year.
But the landowner now needs to sell and Katie must raise some £100,000 if she wants to remain.
The 36-year-old has been at the four to five acre site in Minster for almost five years. Initially she rented it as stabling for her two horses but says the excess land meant she could provide a site for rescue animals, something she has been involved with for some 15 years.
Now Katie fears what the future will hold for the animals at her sanctuary, She said: “I have until the 16th April. I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find anywhere to rent.
“I have MS and epilepsy so can’t drive anymore so need somewhere in Minster ideally and nowhere is available. Some of the animals in my care just would not cope being rehomed and I wouldn’t cope losing them either.
“I am fundraising to try and buy the land or see if there is anything available to rent in Minster, Monkton or Acol areas as I could get to them by mobility scooter.
“I’m desperate and very frightened and would just love to save this site.”
Katie says she has been overwhelmed by positive responses on her social media sites but the task she is facing is still huge.
Of the four foxes, two male and two female who have all been neutered, one is blind and another has had a stroke.
Katie, who self-funds the rescue, said: “The animals have nowhere to go, finding homes for the foxes in particular would be extremely difficult and traumatic for them.”
Katie, who set up the Zio the Fox Foundation in 2022 named after the first fox she brought to the site, has now created a fundraiser in the hope people will help her save the sanctuary.
She said: “If we can do this it provides the animals a home for life and allows us to build more enclosures in order to help more disabled foxes and improve our current facilities.
“We will then look at opening as a charity with the idea to become a therapy centre in the near future.”
To contact Katie message the Zio the Fox Foundation facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ziothefox
Find Katie on tiktok at https://www.tiktok.com/@officialfoxlady2
