Dear friends,

2024 has been one of the most challenging years for The Retreat since the sanctuary was founded in 1989. As well as providing a lifelong home to over a thousand animals and doing our frontline rescue work every single day, we also provide a free of charge visitor centre which welcomes hundreds of members of the public through our gates every week.

We keep our gates open for around 8 months a year in order to show our kind supporters the kind of crucial life saving work we do 24/7 at The Retreat and see the effect of your donations in action. Our centre is your centre - it's here for everyone.

This year has seen some of the wettest months since Met Office records began in 1836, and the 18 months October 2022 to March 2024 saw record breaking levels of rainfall. This has had a really negative impact on our native wildlife, and The Retreat's wildlife hospital has been absolutely overrun throughout the past couple of years, trying to help the wild animals who have been struggling.

Now in the middle of October, many of our large animal residents have had to come into their winter quarters as their summer paddocks are flooded. And we are in desperate preparations to bring the rest in over the next week or so. While we never have a set date for bringing the animals in for winter as it is completely dependent on the ground conditions, this is the earliest we've had to do it since moving to our High Halden site 12 years ago, and is actually a month or two earlier than usual.

Cold and wet weather, while being unpleasant for many of the residents, puts an extra strain on their bodies too. Most of our animals have come from less than ideal circumstances before joining us, meaning they have various health issues requiring them to have extra food, more hay, extra cosy beds, and more access to shelter than over the warmer drier months. This all comes with an added cost as our bills for feed, hay and bedding skyrocket. In addition, we inevitably have to have more animals treated by the vets, which comes with increasing costs, and our most delicate residents require external heat sources to keep them safe and comfortable, and the cost of electricity is only getting higher, as we all know.

And of course, poor weather impacts our visitor numbers as we understand many people don't want to be outdoors in the wind, rain and chilly temperatures! Although we don't charge for entry, and never will, our wonderful visitors help our income by spending money in the café and shops, making donations, and paying for tours and stays in our lodge. So fewer visitors means less money coming in.

We aim to go into winter with enough funds in the bank for any eventuality and knowing we have at least six month's worth of running costs to see us through.

We are hoping you can help us raise £50,000 so we can have the peace of mind that all new rescues and our current residents will have exactly what they need in the coming winter.

We can’t cut back on the work we do - it’s so vital to all the animals who come to us. You have always helped us keep The Retreat open to the animals who need us the most, and we need you more than ever, to help us face this unprecedented challenge.

Be part of the magic and ensure there is a bright light at the end of this coming winter for us all.

With gratitude,

Billy, Team Retreat, and all the animals