02 November 2020

Coronavirus update: The new lockdown in England

Following the announcement of a second lockdown in England to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, we wanted to update you on how Redwings is planning to respond when the new measures come into effect this Thursday.

As a national animal welfare charity, we have always taken hygiene and biosecurity standards very seriously and will again play our part in helping the country through this crisis. However, having adapted and devised strict safety procedures for our teams to follow as a result of the first lockdown earlier in the year, we hope fewer of our services will need to be disrupted this time around.

For example, having redesigned our rehoming application process, including virtual home checks and horse visits, we will be continuing with our Guardianship Scheme. This is essential for enabling as many of our rescued horses as possible to find loving new homes outside of the Sanctuary so we can create space to help even more at this difficult time.

However, the Government’s new measures mean we have no choice but to close our visitor centres, including Redwings Mountains in Scotland, until further notice. This is very disappointing as we were just about to announce the expansion of our opening hours and we know how much our supporters have valued being able to visit our horses and donkeys again.

Anyone who has pre-booked tickets to visit our centres from this Saturday onwards will be receiving an email notifying them of the closures. We are so sorry to cause any disappointment but thank you for your understanding.

In the meantime, please keep an eye on our social media pages for further news when we can bring it to you and where we’ll be continuing to share daily photos of our rescued residents to keep you smiling!

You can also keep in touch through our main enquiries number (01508 481000) which will remain open for anyone wishing to make a donation, sponsor an Adoption Star or place Christmas gift orders, Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 4.30pm. However, where possible, we would urge supporters to make use of our website where they can still do all of the above and this will help us deal with any enquiries as quickly as possible.

Our welfare line (01508 481008) for anyone wishing to report a concern about a horse or donkey will also remain open but please be aware that our field officers will be prioritising emergency cases only at this time.

With over 1,500 rescued horses, ponies, donkeys and mules living at our sites across the UK, we want to take this opportunity to say thank you to our amazing vets and equine carers who, throughout this unprecedented year, have ensured our residents get the very best of care and will continue to do so during this next lockdown.

Caring for large numbers of rescued horses in winter brings with it its own challenges and puts pressure on resources, but this will now be exacerbated by the new lockdown measures and restrictions on our ability to fundraise through the closure of our cafes and gift shops. If you would like to donate to help us be there for them, please click here. As a registered charity 100% funded by donations from the public, your support really does go a long way, especially now. Thank you!