Last chance to save ELM Wildlife!

‼ LAST CHANCE TO SAVE ELM - DEVON’S WILDLIFE RESCUE CHARITY ‼

• Vital wildlife resource has weeks to find new home

• Last chance to save ELM Wildlife centre, near Newton Abbot

• Rescue centre saves 1500+ wild animals per year

Devon’s largest wildlife rescue centre is facing imminent closure unless other premises are found.

ELM currently operates at a facility near Newton Abbot, but, due to reasons beyond the charity’s control, from the end of August it faces being homeless and having to close its doors permanently.

The wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre has operated since October 2018 and in that time has come to the aid of thousands of wild animals, either sick, injured or in distress; not to mention advice given to around 80 people a day about wildlife with a problem or in need of help. The charity receives no local authority or government money and is funded by the generous donations of its supporters and the public. Rick, Jacky and Emily Parker, aided by an army of highly valued and dedicated volunteers, ensure the rescue centre runs efficiently 365 days a year.

However, the future for the charity looks bleak and the vital work it does is in jeopardy, unless an alternative location is urgently found. ELM Wildlife rescues many species of wildlife when space to house them is available, but unfortunately, the centres capacity cannot keep up with the demand, although hopefully, that would change with new premises. ELM is a specialist in hedgehog care and currently have 200+ hedgehogs in the rescue centre, a substantial proportion of which are abandoned or orphaned hoglets requiring hand rearing. They all risk facing eviction if the Rescue can’t find somewhere to go.

What ELM Needs

Apart from the funding, ELM needs someone, whether it be a farmer, landowner, or business, to sell them enough land so they can build a new rescue. The acreage is flexible, depending on whether there are any existing buildings. The ideal area is somewhere within a reasonable distance of the A38 between Chudleigh and Ivybridge, which will allow the Rescue to continue to cover its current area of Devon; but all options are being considered.

ELM have lost so many land purchase deals over the last few years due to being used as a pawn in bidding wars and people not going through with promises to sell to them, even though they are prepared to pay a fair market price. The personal money the Parker family have available does not now go as far as needed; hence ELM (a registered charity 1188486) urgently need your help if they are to remain open. A combination of these factors and the fact that they are being forced to leave their present site, has left ELM at the eleventh hour still desperately searching for their new location.

ELM is seeking to raise £400,000 – a figure based on current land prices and the cost to build a new Rescue Centre. Although this figure is unlikely to cover all the costs of creating a completed new centre, it would hopefully get ELM to a workable level; until it can secure more funding. Unfortunately the majority of funders will not entertain an application unless ELM has a long lease or owns the premises itself; an extra kick in the teeth from losing ELM’s accommodation.

Although most people may hopefully not have needed ELM’s help yet, consider what will happen to sick and injured wildlife when they are no longer around. The UK’s diminishing wildlife is under immense pressure - if it wasn’t for individually run rescue centres, the UK’s wildlife would be at a point of collapse. It is only when rescue centres are no longer here, that people will realise there is nowhere to take sick and injured wild animals in Devon. There will be no one on the end of the phone to help and people will have the agony of helplessly watching an animal die.

Someone out there has it within their gift to save ELM and, with their help, ELM will save thousands more wild animals.

Volunteers at ELM say that the news of their threatened closure comes at a time when demand for the wildlife rescue’s services is ‘going through the roof’. The charity is now asking people who may have a solution to its homelessness problem to come forward to help it find a solution.

ELM can be contacted by messaging through GoFundMe, or via ELM's Facebook page ELM Wildlife Hedgehog Rescue and Rehabilitation (@savinghedgehogs). Please do not phone the ELM rescue number – they have to keep the line free to respond to around 80 calls a day about sick and injured animals.

Any donation will help to make an impact and means so much to everyone at ELM and potentially thousands of sick and injured wild animals. Sadly, if ELM closes its doors, it will never come back.

Thank you from everyone at ELM Wildlife

Charity Commission number 1188486