A Lichfield animal rescue group has been boosted by a £1,500 donation from a supermarket.
The money was handed over to Animal Rescue Volunteers by the Tesco Stronger Starts Scheme.
The grant will support the group’s Helping To Get Your Pet Neutered campaign, which aims to offer financial assistance to owners who cannot afford to have their animals neutered.
Julia Allsopp, founder and chair at Animal Rescue Volunteers, said:
“Covid saw an increase in the population of animals for various reasons, including more breeding and less neutering.
“Many people then struggled financially and the fallout from this has meant that we have seen a huge rise in the number of homeless animals.
“The UK financial crisis has also dramatically increased the number of people unable to afford to keep their own pets or take on new ones. Rescues that have been struggling for the last two years are now at breaking point and are unable to take in any more homeless animals.
“Our goal is to take the financial burden away from those most in need, helping owners to keep their pets. Previously these owners may have had to make the unfortunate decision to rehome them or give them to a rescue centre.
“We want to thank Tesco for this generous donation, as this will allow us to identify locally which pets are most in need of neutering and who qualifies for financial assistance. From here we will then source the nearest and most suitable vet for the procedure and arrange any operation appointments.”
Julia Allsop, Animal Rescue Volunteers
To find out more about Animal Rescue Volunteers, visit animalrescuevolunteers.com or visit their Facebook page.
Claire De Silva, head of community at Tesco, said:
“We’re delighted that we can help groups and clubs like Animal Rescue Volunteers.
“Stronger Starts invites our customers to use their blue tokens to vote for local schemes they feel will benefit communities – and it’s so good to see the impact that the funding makes.”
Claire De Silva, Tesco