Like many small charities, Remus Horse Sanctuary has had to cancel all of its fundraising efforts and events as a result of Covid-19. The charity is turning to virtual open days to try and keep funds coming in.

The Sanctuary is currently existing with a small, skeleton staff, who are required to look after and care for its 200+ animals.

Sue Burton, founder of Remus Horse Sanctuary commented on the Prime Minister’s recent announcement: “If the PM had said another three weeks of lockdown then we could start to move forward. But instead, my understanding is it could be July before they will even think about the hospitality/visitor sectors being allowed to re-open. We could survive the three weeks, but I have real concerns about surviving another three months or more.

“Everything goes on here – hungry mouths need feeding, staff need paying, vet fees and other bills come in on a daily basis but still there is no hope from the Government at all. At the beginning of all this we were told we had to close, and people had to stay in, so instantly our events were cancelled and our means of raising money disabled.”

To try and mitigate the huge financial loss, the charity is organising virtual Open Days – to be shared across its Facebook and Instagram platforms – until the Sanctuary can re-open to the public.

The next Virtual Open Day will take place on Sunday, 7 June from 1pm until 5pm. “Instead of coming to us, we have decided to bring our Sanctuary Open Days to our supporters, by social media,” said Sue.

Via video, the charity will be sharing messages from the staff that work at the Sanctuary and from its animals, with a little bit of history too. It will also have merchandise for sale, information on conservation, enrichment, a tour of the yard and much more.

Those interested in finding out more about how the Sanctuary is coping during this time and in joining one of its virtual Open Days, can visit: www.facebook.com/RemusHorseSanctuary and www.instagram.com/remushorsesanctuary.

Details of all of the charity’s Open Days can be found online at: www.remussanctuary.org/event-category/open_days/.

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