An urgent appeal for donations has led to a fundraising page being created to care for 190 birds at The Raptor Foundation near Huntingdon.

The wildlife centre, based in Woodhurst, is pleading with the public and animal lovers not to forget about them after they had to close due to the coronavirus outbreak.

They currently have 190 birds on site along with 23 different reptiles and a rescue service.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for the foundation to continue to care for the birds and meet their running costs and veterinary bills.

Founder, Liz Blows, said they were “struggling” as their team of 25 volunteers now have to stay at home due to the pandemic.

“It costs about £1,500 a month to feed the animals on site but, on top of that, there are also gas and electricity bills to keep it all running,” she explained.

“We have birds in the reptile house that need to be kept at a constant temperature, so the cost of heating is also a concern.

“If we reach £2,000 it would help massively for a month but then we would fear for the next month too as no one knows when this crisis will end.

“Our team of volunteers can’t come in to the sanctuary at present due to coronavirus guidelines and some are self-isolating or looking after relatives.”

The popular on-site gift shop has had to close, which was also source of revenue for the foundation, and Liz said she was unsure when the centre would fully reopen.

They currently have three full-time staff who are operating on a rota basis to keep things going.

Liz continued: “We are struggling as we have tried to get various grants but it is just a waiting game.

“We are seeing the amazing work going on in all aspects of our communities but we don’t want animal charities to be forgotten about at this time.

“If we had lots of people just donate £1 each then it would be huge help for us.

“Please share our fundraising page and get the message out there.”

To donate visit https://bit.ly/3eqFljV or find out more about The Raptor Foundation at https://raptorfoundation.org.uk/.