Village News

Christmas Lights

200610 | Cornish Seal Sanctuary appeals for help in open letter to DEFRA

Cornish Seal Sanctuary appeals for help in open letter to DEFRA

Cornish Seal Sanctuary appeals for help in open letter to DEFRA

Published by Sarah Yeoman at 6:29am 9th June 2020.

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary is appealing for help from DEFRA as it faces 'tremendous debt and an uncertain future'.

The sanctuary in Gweek has been closed for almost three months because of the coronavirus lockdown.

Bosses say they have been refused the much needed government Zoo grant, and so the charity is now appealing to DEFRA through an open letter for further support in this crisis.

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary, run by the SEA LIFE Trust, has written an open letter to DEFRA in response to the ruling last week that sanctuaries, zoos and aquariums must remain closed whilst gardens, outdoor land maintained for public use and indoor shops, pubs and restaurants have all been allowed to open in June.

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary is appealing for officials to re-evaluate their latest decision with regards to opening, and to look at the financial support they are currently offering, as many facilities are missing out due to situations beyond their own control.

Cornish Seal Sanctuary

“We are all emotionally exhausted! This has been very challenging time for the team at the sanctuary to keep financially afloat while ensuring we are providing the best care to our animals.

"It came as a shock to learn we were not successful in securing the government zoo grant, with the response stating we were not eligible as we’ve already received aid in the form of a CBIL loan.

"Whilst we are very grateful to not face imminent closure due to this loan, we would like to point out that a loan is very different to grant support and comes with interest payments that would also need to be paid back; leaving our charity facing long-term debt.

"With seal pup rescue season just around the corner and essential pool work still needing to be done, we are asking DEFRA to consider our desperate situation.”

Jana Sirova, General Manager

 

 

via https://www.piratefm.co.uk/news/latest-news/3119543/cornish-seal-sanctua...