KENT NEWS: X Factor star Leona Lewis has urged the public to help save 50 sick and abused horses from slaughter.
The singer is the latest celebrity to lend her support to the plight of The Horse Refuge, after owners Sara and Alan Ross were told they had to raise £600,000 to buy Dobbells Farm, near Tenterden, where it is run.
If they cannot find the money, the couple will be evicted and the horses,
which are too sick or abused to be re-homed, will be slaughtered in two
weeks' time.
So far, Mr and Mrs Ross have been unable to collect enough cash.
Even support from X Factor¹s Simon Cowell, actress Jenny Seagrove and Paul McCartney's daughter Heather has not been enough, and the couple face losing their home and the animals they have cared for since the refuge started up in 1995.
But on Thursday, Ms Lewis contacted the refuge to say she would back the
campaign.
She said: "The Horse Refuge is a unique and amazing place.
"They do great work with animals that in many cases have suffered terrible
abuse. It takes endless amounts of time and patience to regain their trust.
"This makes it even harder to re-home them. I urge everybody to do what they can to help these animals and avoid such a disaster."
Mrs Ross believes this could be the last chance the refuge has to remain
open and the horses to survive.
"If we all work together we can save these horses," she said. "We don't expect much, small donations add up and can really help.
"I just can't even think about the horses being put to sleep it's too
upsetting."
Mrs Ross started the refuge with the sole purpose of ending the suffering of
sick and unwanted horses.
In the past two years, the number of animals at the sanctuary has grown dramatically after financial pressures caused by the recession forced people to give up their horses.
But at the end of last year, Mr and Mrs Ross received the devastating news
that their rented farm was being sold and unless they could buy it, they
would be evicted.
Mrs Ross said: "This is the most hideous thing in the world, but there seems to be nothing we can do except ask people to help us with donations.
"We have until the end of April and then that's it."
So far £215,000 has been raised thanks to an undisclosed donation from Simon Cowell and donations from the public. But this figure has not gone up in the last two months.
As well as the 50 horses including Duke, the tallest horse in Europe there are 30 other animals at the farm in Wittersham.
Mrs Ross said: "We're hoping for a miracle, but time has almost run out."
Another horse at the refuge once belonged to Beatle Paul McCartney's late wife Linda. His daughter Heather has been campaigning to stop the closure.
She said: "It is a truly wonderful sanctuary where no living creature, wild
or cared for, faces persecution.
"I believe no other sanctuary is able to
care for them in the same skilful way, as Sara has painstakingly regained
their trust over many years."
• See www.thehorserefuge.org or call 01797 270555 to donate.
POSTED: 18/04/2010 08:00:00
Bookmark with:
Email to a friend: