A busy north-east animal sanctuary has revealed plans to build a wildlife hospital on its grounds after one of its busiest years.
The New Arc, near Auchnagatt, is hoping to create a first aid centre, which could be the only facility of its kind in the north of Scotland.
Now the charity is calling on supporters to help raise an initial £30,000 to make the project a reality.
The wildlife hospital would be made up of three linked cabins – one of which would be a reception area, another a unit to care for birds and another for mammals.
As well as treating injured or orphaned animals, the facility would be used for their rehabilitation.
Keith Marley co-founded the New Arc with his wife, Pauline.
Last night he said: “This has been an ambition since we started. The simple fact of the matter is last year we were under pressure, we were struggling to cope just with providing enough room and space for the animals we were taking in.
“We are trying to look ahead to the long-term plans. If numbers continue increasing the way they have done we have got to continue to provide suitable facilities for the animals.
“It would be great if we could provide an all-singing all-dancing place. We have got to be realistic. We know we can get a good facility with the budget we have outlined.
“Basically it would provide first aid facilities, but there would also be rehabilitation pens and incubators for some of the poorly orphans that come in.
“At the moment we can provide basic first aid at the centre, we obviously rely a lot on our vets. We get a lot of animals referred to us from vets now, and we have a network of volunteers transporting to us.”
He added they hoped to get the hospital put in place “as soon as possible”.
Mr Marley said: “We could do with it this year. As long as it is achieved, that is the main thing.”
He encouraged New Arc supporters to come up with creative fundraising ideas to help the dream become a reality – adding the centre would support people’s efforts.
He added: “There are a lot of great fundraising ideas out there.”
Last night the New Arc’s founders said its busy “orphan season” was right around the corner, and may be hastened by the mild winter.
Since being set up almost 12 years ago, the New Arc has cared for roughly 7,000 animals – and each spring, during breeding season for many animals, staff and volunteers endure a hefty workload.
Mr Marley said: “We started out with 20 to 30 animals at any one time. We now have 285 I think here. And with some of them we have to look at long-terms futures. When we have baby deer, otters, squirrels; they can be with us up to a year.
“Busy season really is just around the corner already, we are battening down the hatches preparing for the rush. It was a mild winter as well. It might come very early for us.”
To donate to the New Arc’s plans for an animal sanctuary, visit: https://www.thenewarc.org
