Warwickshire horse sanctuary's closure confirmed

An animal charity has confirmed the closure of two of its sanctuaries, after a consultation period with staff affected.

Redwings proposed the closure of the Oxhill site in south Warwickshire, along with a second in Scotland, earlier this year, blaming rising costs.

Following a consultation with 33 workers across both locations, the charity confirmed those affected had been made redundant and both sites would shut with immediate effect.

The charity's chief executive, Lynn Cutress, said: "All the affected staff have been offered wellbeing support and help to find alternative employment wherever possible."

The charity has also closed the Redwings Mountain site, based at Forfar in Scotland and Cutress said while neither location took in rescued horses or donkeys directly, the animals that were living there would be relocated to their main base in Norfolk.

In a statement on the Redwings website, Cutress blamed rising costs and a difficult financial landscape over the last four years for closing both locations.

"Costs have risen exponentially over the last few years, and we have needed to use our savings, known as reserves, for the past four years to fill the gap between our income and expenditure, which is something we knew was not sustainable in the long term."

The charity said both the Oxhill and Forfar sites were among the oldest in their property portfolio and were not directly involved in rescuing horses or donkeys in need, which made them the most expensive and "challenging" to operate.

"Closing the centres will save vital and significant operating costs long-term, allowing us to secure the future of the 1,000+ rescued horses in our sanctuary care who rely on us every day."

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