The Sanctuary

The Sanctuary

Caring for wildlife in the north east

NORTH EAST TOURISM AWARDS 2005

The Sanctuary Wildlife Care Centre was a finalist in the

'Best Family Experience' Category

The Sanctuary is a not-for-profit organisation and the money raised by the visitor centre is to benefit the animals at The Sanctuary.

WINTER FEED APPEAL

The Sanctuary, like many other organisations & businesses had an awful summer due to the wet weather, price of fuel and the credit crunch. We too have made cut backs but the one thing we cannot cut back on is the number of animals here in our care that have to be fed on a daily basis.

It costs £17,000 a year to feed the animals and now we face a long winter with no money at all in reserve for the feed bills. (Unfortunately we are not like the large animal charities with millions in reserve ... we wish!)

Can you help feed the animals by sending either a cash donation or setting up a standing order in favour of The Sanctuary for whatever you can afford ?

If you would rather not give cash - could you arrange a collection of pet food (cans of cat or dog food) - we will collect if you are unable.

At present we have 157 residents in The Sanctuary and it is our priority to take care of those here now and because of this we have had to make the very difficult decision not to take in any more animals at present. There has been some criticism from some members of the public regarding this decision, but at the end of the day if we continue to keep on taking in animals without thought - The Sanctuary will close and there will be no sanctuary for any animals now or in the future.

So if you can help at all - please do get in touch.

Many thanks.

PS Due to the press coverage and the BBC Radio appeal - we are delighted to say to date we have raised £3,783 to help feed the animals over the winter. A huge thank you to all who have donated so far.

Please help us to keep on going - we need almost £9,000 to pay for feed until April next year.

From Elephants to hedgehogs......... (Click on any photograph to see a larger, more detailed image)

The Sanctuary Wildlife Care Centre was first started in 1993 in Alnwick when the owners Kim Olson and Allan Pettersson returned to Northumberland from studying wildlife management and working in a game sanctuary in Tanzania.

From picking up one gull with a broken wing and successfully releasing it back to the wild, the Sanctuary now receives and treats almost a thousand injured or abandoned wildlife cases each year, without discrimination and the aim is still the same - to release the animal back to the wild.

The Sanctuary today.......

Now located in a once-derelict 18th century farmhouse, set in 8 acres, the Sanctuary is 3 miles north of Morpeth just off the popular Northumbrian Coastal Route and is today home to over 150 resident animals.

The new visitor centre was made possible with grants from 18 funders to create an exciting and innovative education and recreation attraction that is unique in the north east. The new centre is accessible to all and offers new opportunities and experiences for visitors of all ages and abilities.

Take this link to our Things to do page to find out what is available to you as a visitor.

Our What's New page will update you on anything new which we are planning or any new services which we are offering.

For our opening times and admission fees and to help you to find us please go to our Visitor Information page where you will find all the relevant information and maps of our location.

To get in touch with us please go to our Contact us page for our address, telephone/fax number and e-mail address.

Group visits

We are happy to cater for group visits. For further information and to book, please either us or telephone us on 01670-791778.

We also cater for Childrens' Birthday parties.

For further information click on the party people

Anyone with horses in need of stabling, we are now offering full livery, so please take this link to find out further information.

The Sanctuary's motto ?

"Saving just one animal won't make a difference to the world, but it will make a world of difference to just that one animal!"

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This page was last updated on Monday, 10 November 2008 14:37

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Comments from our Visitor book:

Adults

“Lovely place for a family day out! Lots of places for granddad to sit and rest awhile. No ‘rip-off' prices for admission and food. Lots & lots to amuse Ben. Will definitely come again!” Mr & Mrs Dodds, Ashington – 28/5/05

“Fantastic place – so child friendly and fun” Bell Family, Low Fell – 30/5/05

“Fantastic value for money. All the staff/volunteers have been very helpful and friendly. We were all very impressed with the children’s play area and indoor toys. We will be recommending The Sanctuary to friends and family” Janet Sutton – Tyne & Wear – 5/6/05

“Beautiful sanctuary and definitely well kept – I really hope you keep up the good work in saving all these beautiful animals you have in Britain. Good job and best of luck” Melissa Amiruddin & Michael Sadowski – Kuala Lumpur – 10/6/05

“Boys aged 2½ and 4 enjoyed pig and tractors (respectively!) almost as much as parents enjoyed cakes and sit-down! Appreciate non-commercial attitude very much. Thank you” The Smiths, Oxford – 22/7/05

“Thank you for answering all Ben’s questions on snakes. I think the fox was very cute and my favourite thing I saw today. The goats were very gentle and nice to feed” Kim, Ben, Craig, Kevin & Michelle, York – 19/5/06

“Love the non-commercial approach - the animals’ welfare comes first” Thanks” Kay & Rick Hunt – Essex – 19/6/06

“Wonderful job – great place for everyone. Thank God for people who care for animals – well done!” Watson Family, Sunderland & France – 12/8/06

“Really we spent a nice time in this natural place. We found beautiful animals. I hope I will visit this farm next year. Thanks to all staff here” Abdulla Alalt, Dubai – 13/8/06

“This is a lovely place for children, with none of the usual pressures of consumerism. You’re doing a great job” Ousby family – London – 17/8/06

“Have had a lovely day. Children have been happy with everything they’ve seen and done and it has been relaxing for the adults” Cutter, Gateshead – 18/8/06

“Albert (3yrs) “I liked the goats and the snake best”. The tractors and ride-on toys are inspired for small children. A very relaxing and well cared-for environment for visitors as well as your animal patients. Well done” Hansell Family, Oxford – 15/9/06

“A well laid out place. A lot of care and attention has been taken so that visitors get as much as possible out of this experience. Well done” The Reids, Forfar – 2/10/06

“Fantastic place. Animals well cared for, lovely clean place. Excellent educational facilities. Staff/owners brilliant. Will definitely come again” Ditchburn Lot, Newcastle – 6/10/06

“Well done! You do marvellous work and may it long continue with the support you need and deserve” Anna, Tony, Susie, St. Andrews – 20/10/06

“Animals all look so happy – are well looked after. Wish everyone else cared for animals too” Taryn & Anne-marie, Grimsby – 10/3/07

“A hidden gem. Well worth the visit. Great fun for adults as well as the children. Keep up the good work – we will be back” Amelia, Gary, Nell, Harry, Jorda, Rebecca, North Shields – 7/5/07

“A fantastic job – well done. Your work is admirable and makes us proud of our country – thank you and keep up the good work! So glad we visited” Ivy, Jayne, Phil, Cheshire/Lincs – 14/5/07

Children

“I had a great time and I was glad to see some foxes up close because they are one of my favourite animals” Rachel Jones Lincoln – 1/4/05

“Very charming animals, grandma loves the fat pigs, Amy likes horses, Steven loves the park, granda loves the goats!” Steven & Amy, Newcastle – 8/4/05

“This was my first time coming to the park and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the donkeys best of all because I was the only one they came to. I also liked the goats because like them I’m always hungry. So I will always remember the Sanctuary and I will make a donation of 50p” Matt McKinnell age 11 - 25/4/05

“This is a lovely place for a family. It has just the right amount of animals for young children. All of the animals are lovely. You really take good care of them. Keep up the good work!” Linsey McKinnell, Tyne & Wear. Age 14 – 25/4/05

“I have really enjoyed myself. I liked feeding the animals, especially the greedy goats! Thank you for making the farm enjoyable” Amy smiles, aged 12 – 5/6/05

“We’ve had a good time. Me and my sisters liked the pony ride best. The goat called ‘TJ’ was funny because he/she started to eat the babies cardigan. We’ve had a really really good time. Really good all the animals are cute” The Nichol family, Cramlington – 14/4/06

“I like the swing, but the rabbits was best. Also I liked the birds, goats, baders and the food here is lovely” Charlie, Northumberland – 15/4/06

“The big swing is really cool and the animals are cute” Emma, Northumberland – 15/4/06

“The place is stunning. I really enjoyed it and I definitely would come again. I loved making the butterfly windchime. I didn’t get to ride a horse though” Lauren, Newcastle – 28/4/06

“I loved Tom and Hollie the goats. They are fab. I want to take them home!!” Daniella, Blyth – 11/8/06

“The pot bellied pig is great it reminds me of my dad. You should put it on a Slimfast diet so it can actually stand up” Lee Hong, Japan - 11/8/06

“My favourite animal was the goats they ate everything and were jumping on the fence. I saw the owl eating a chicken and it looked really funny” Luke, Devon – 13/8/06

“I loved the goats except when they tried to eat my jeans. Good cream tea” James Letchworth - 21/8/06

“I like the fact that there are some people out there who care for the wildlife” Denise age 9 – 20/10/06

“We liked having our faces painted and having a cup of hot chocolate. We were sad to not see the badgers. Also we were pleased to see the fox” Lauren, Luke, Mummy, Nanna, Christopher, Shiremoor – 29/4/07

“Had a lovely time watching the badger being fed and feeding the goats. We also learned about the ‘amorous’ ducks which we thought were fighting – but apparently weren’t!” Harry (7) & Sophie (5), Monkseaton – 7/5/07