The Navy Comes to the Rescue at The Monkey Sanctuary
A team from the Navy has come to the rescue and is helping Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary on Tuesday 11th February to clear up the mess from last week’s storm and help rebuild its damaged enclosure.
Wild Futures’ Monkey Sanctuary was hit badly last week in the storms, causing a 150 year old beech tree to crash down and ruin the Sanctuary’s largest open enclosure. Estimates for the repair work run into the thousands.
Wild Futures is the leading primate welfare charity in the UK. The Monkey Sanctuary is its flagship project and rescues monkeys from the pet trade – many who suffer from being kept as pets. It currently has 37 monkeys and the sanctuary is recognised for its enclosure design, space and specialist care provided for the monkeys.
The charity runs a very tight ship and so does not have sufficient reserves to cover this type of damage. Sadly, this is the second time that the Monkey Sanctuary has been affected by extreme weather – having been flooded in November 2012.
Hayley Dann of Wild Futures states: “We were devastated last week when the tree smashed into our ‘trees enclosure’. Not only has it caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, it is taking our small team a long time to clear, plus the woolly monkeys have lost their favourite tree to climb. As an animal welfare charity, we have little funds to spare and we launched our Storm Appeal last week in the hope that members of the public can donate to help us rebuild the enclosure space. We are grateful to the Navy in giving us their time this week to help with the clear up – I am sure our Site Manager will be pleased with their support.”
The Monkey Sanctuary stresses that it will be open for February half term as the enclosure space is secure and sign posted. It hopes to see lots of visitors next week as all the money from ticket sales at the admissions desk go directly to supporting the charity.
For more information on the Storm Appeal, please visit: https://www.wildfutures.org/storm-appeal/
For opening times for The Monkey Sanctuary, visit: http://www.monkeysanctuary.org/visit-us/opening-times/
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Notes to Editors:
Released: 10 February 2014
About Wild Futures
Wild Futures (Charity reg. No. 1102532) is an educational and environmental charity promoting the welfare and conservation of primates, and working to end the abuse of primates in captivity. Its flagship project, The Monkey Sanctuary, in Cornwall, is home to victims of the primate pet trade. The Monkey Sanctuary is the only sanctuary in Europe accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) and is a founder member of EARS (European Alliance of Rescue Centres and Sanctuaries). Drawing on 50 years of primate expertise, Wild Futures acts as an advisory body to sanctuaries and conservation organisations in the UK and overseas and advises DEFRA on UK animal welfare legislation.
For more information contact:
Hayley Dann, Head of Income Generation and PR
T: 0844 272 1271