Supporters in Pembrokeshire and beyond rally to keep animal sanctuary open to urgent new cases

GREENACRES RESCUE has been pulled back from the brink after an overwhelming public response cleared a £24,000 vet bill that had left the Pembrokeshire animal sanctuary facing the prospect of shutting its doors to new intakes.

The Talbenny-based rescue had warned it was at breaking point after receiving a March veterinary bill of £24,113.92, saying it could be forced to stop taking in emergency cases unless the money was raised by the end of the month.

The stark appeal triggered an immediate wave of support, with donations pouring in from Pembrokeshire and beyond.

Within the first 24 hours, Greenacres said it had raised £12,759, taking the charity more than halfway to its target. By Wednesday, the full amount had been reached.

In a message thanking supporters, the Greenacres team said: “Because of you our doors stay open.

“We hit our target for the vet bill and we are absolutely overwhelmed with gratitude.

“The support we’ve received has been nothing short of incredible, and thanks to every single one of you, our doors can stay open to help as many animals as we physically can.”

The rescue had warned that failing to clear the bill would have devastating consequences, with new emergency calls potentially having to be turned away.

Mikey Lawlor said last week that March had been the toughest month the charity had faced, despite more than £43,000 already being raised and paid off earlier this year.

He said the number of animals needing urgent help had reached an all-time high, pushing the rescue to the brink.

While Greenacres stressed it would always honour commitments to animals already in its care, it warned that being forced to close to new intake could leave other animals without a lifeline.

In its thank-you message, the charity said the successful appeal meant it could continue helping “animals who feel forgotten” and those with nowhere else to turn.

The rescue also highlighted the case of Venus, a Doberman taken in last week after spending time in council pound kennels.

Greenacres said Venus had faced an uncertain and heartbreaking future after going unclaimed, and had arrived too frightened to show her true character. Staff said she has already begun to relax and reveal herself as a gentle dog.

“Dogs like Venus are the reason we exist,” the team said.

As well as direct donations, Greenacres is continuing to ask supporters to help through its Amazon wish list, which provides food and other essentials for the animals in its care.

The charity, which has been rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming neglected and unwanted animals since 2008, cares for dogs, cats, horses, reptiles and other small animals across Pembrokeshire.

A WELL-KNOWN charity shop in the heart of Tenby is set to close after serving the town for more than three decades.

Cancer Research UK has confirmed that its Tudor Square branch will shut as part of a nationwide restructuring of its retail operation, which will see hundreds of stores disappear over the next year.

The Tenby outlet, which first opened in 1992, has long occupied a prominent spot in the town centre and has become a familiar part of the local shopping scene.

The charity says around ninety of its shops will close by the end of May this year, with as many as a further one hundred due to shut by April 2027. The Tenby branch is not included in the first list of closures, so it is expected to remain open a little longer.

Cancer Research UK says it is reshaping its retail network to focus on fewer, stronger-performing high street stores, while increasing its investment in larger retail sites and stepping away from its online marketplace.

The organisation says the move is aimed at protecting future income for research, with the changes expected to free up millions of pounds over the next five years for work into cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Julie Byard, the charity’s director of trading, paid tribute to those who have supported the Tenby shop over the years, including staff, volunteers and customers.

She said the decision had not been taken lightly and stressed that it was not a reflection on the efforts of local teams, but part of a wider response to increasing running costs and shifts in the way people shop.

Cancer Research UK says it believes many of its current shops would struggle to remain viable in the longer term without major changes.

The charity has said support will be offered to those affected by the closure.

For Tenby, the loss of the Tudor Square shop will mark the end of a long-established presence in one of the town’s best-known locations.

Pic caption: Shop closure: Cancer Research UK’s long-standing Tenby branch in Tudor Square is set to shut as part of a national retail restructure.

PLANS for a special tower in rural Pembrokeshire to help protect a Welsh bat species in decline have been given the go-ahead.

In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Jenny Surname O’Neill of Vincent Wildlife Trust sought permission for a five-metre-high bat roost tower structure at Llwyngoras, Felindre Farchog.

A supporting statement said: “The building will be used exclusively for wildlife conservation as a dedicated roosting site for bats. It will not serve any other function, and access will be strictly controlled, as disturbing bats is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended).

“Historically, a maternity roost for lesser horseshoe bats was present within one of the farm buildings on the wider site, notable as the only known maternity roost in North Pembrokeshire. However, numbers at the roost have declined in recent years.

“Greater horseshoe bats have also been recorded at the site over several years and concerns have been raised that interactions between the two species within a roost can negatively affect lesser horseshoe bat colonies, including roost abandonment and cessation of breeding. The decline in lesser horseshoe bat numbers may partly result from greater horseshoe bats discouraging their use of other onsite buildings.

“The proposed new structure is intended to provide an additional nearby roost option for lesser horseshoe bats. The sole purpose of the proposed development is to support local bat populations.”

It added: “The proposed bat roost structure forms part of a Wales-wide project, Landscape for Lessers, delivered by Vincent Wildlife Trust. The project is funded through the Nature Networks Programme, administered by the Heritage Fund on behalf of the Welsh Government and in partnership with Natural Resources Wales.

“The project aims to secure the future of Wales’s nationally significant population of lesser horseshoe bats by enhancing existing protected sites and building bespoke bat roosts in areas where the species is in decline, range-restricted, impacted by anthropogenic threats or impacted by the presence of other species invading their roosts.

“This project aims to take a strategic approach to facilitate the recovery of LHB populations across Wales. We will build roost structures in critical lesser horseshoe habitats, linking the network of protected sites and providing stepping stones in the landscape, allowing the species to recolonise their former range.”

The application was conditionally approved by park planners.