THE NORTH EAST WILDLIFE ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRE

Fire at The New Arc sanctuary - Help wanted

On Tuesday, December 18th, there was a serious fire at The New Arc animal sanctuary that destroyed the office, made the house unlivable and tragically killed 30 birds and animals. Volunteers have been working hard to help get the sanctuary working again, but support is needed.

There are many animals to feed and care for, so any monetary or other forms of support are much appreciated.

You can make a donation through PayPal by clicking on this button:

Cheques can be made out to 'The New Arc' and posted to the address above.

For details about the fire and the current progress at the sanctuary, please read the discussion on the Message Board (you are welcome to make a comment):
DISASTER AT THE NEW ARC - PLEASE READ

We have a confirmed outbreak of VHD (which solely affects rabbits). This virus spreads very fast, and has no cure. If you have a pet rabbit, please ensure you get it vaccinated IMMEDIATELY. This is a highly virulent disease, and although not well known in Scotland, has now been found in Perth, Shetlands and now here in Aberdeenshire. If you need further information, please feel free to ring us, or email.

1. We are devasted to find we have had VHD confirmed on our premises, and we have had to close to the general public. Although we have stopped rehoming over the Christmas period in any event, being unable to show people round will of course affect donations which are so badly needed this time of year, especially as with this outbreak our expected vets bills will be substantially higher than usual.

2. The haylage we had ordered has been discovered to be unuseable, and we have been left with no option but to order from another supplier, at nearly THREE times the price we had expected to be paying for winter feed for our horses.

3. We are struggling with the mud, and the extremely high costs of getting hardcore delivered due to fuel charges. We so badly need funds to improve conditions here at the Centre.

PLEASE HELP BY MAKING A DONATION, every penny goes towards the care of the animals here, and is very much appreciated.

If you would care to donate via paypal please do, all you need is a paypal account and our email address .... thenewarc1@aol.com

We are sadly at full capacity, and are unable to take in any further domestic pets. We can direct you, if necessary to other Rescue Organisations who may be able to assist, but to our disappointment we still have far too many animals here waiting for new homes to be able to cater for any more at present.

Pauline and Keith are delighted to announce that The New Arc has been chosen as one of the recipient Charities for 2007/2008 by Kelly Marks and her team. Kelly Marks (for those who are not aware of her work) is one of the country's most popular and effective specialists in understanding horse psychology and behaviour and finding workable solutions for the benefit of both horses and their owners.

Kelly was trained by Monty Roberts (the well known "Horse Whisperer") and offers courses and workshops for horse owners to learn her methods.

The website http://www.montyroberts.co.uk/ gives full information of the methods used, contact details, and also has a very informative and active message board. We are honoured to be associated with Kelly and the team and are grateful to them for taking the time and trouble to look at our site, see the work we do here and decide that we should be part of their fundraising efforts.

Monty our large tabby cat has gone missing!!! Please, if you were a recent visitor and received an unexpected cat in your car please let us know. We have and still are searching furiously to find him, as he is missed by the whole family. Monty is a neutered male, aged around 10 years old, and is very friendly He has a very stripy tail - quite a feature. He is our pet who moved over 600 miles with us 2 years ago, and rarely wanders far, he comes and goes as he pleases, but usually comes home each evening for his tea. If you think you have seen him, please call us on 07962253867. We are prepared to offer a private reward for his safe return home. Please help us find him, check your sheds, barns etc. anywhere he could be shut in.

Over the next few pages you will be able to find out more about us, our supporters and our animals.

The North East Wildlife & Animal Rescue Centre (known as The New Arc) was set up this year, and has recently received Scottish Charity Recognition.

We are based just outside Ellon, Aberdeenshire, but cover the whole of the North East of Scotland. We have a ten acre site, with facilities for a range of animals from horses to guinea pigs, buzzards to foxes. We currently have several buildings which can be utilised in various ways, and are in the process of building more stables, incorporating a veterinary treatment area/education room. We are hoping in the future to open a small shop selling second hand horse tack and pet goods.

We are totally funded by donations, sponsors and membership. We take no wages whatsoever, and 100% of funds received are put straight into the Charity for the welfare of the animals in our care.

We aim to refuse no animal, bird or reptile, whether it be domestic or wild, but with limited land it has become impossible to take every large animal we are requested to help. We do try to find alternative accommodation if we cannot help, with other local organisations. We have a non destruct policy, unless the animal is beyond recovery and having taken consideration of veterinary advice.

We are non-judgmental of the reasons for people signing their animals over to us, as we prefer that people do this willingly without fear of repercussion.

KEITH

Most of my earliest memories centre around animals. Admittedly it often involved being bitten, pecked or receIving some sort of clawing, but there are plenty of good memories too. From about the age of five I could usually be found nosing about in the nearest ditch or searching the local hedgerows for birds nests or caterpillars. I was also fortunate to grow up in an age where the Corncrake could be heard on a regular basis, although hunting down this particular 'ventriloquist' was often a fruitless effort.

I was fortunate to have parents who encouraged my interests from that early age and my heroes have always been the naturalists and presenters of natural history in all its shapes and mediums - Charles Darwin, Jane Goodall, Diane Fossey, Gerald Durrell, David Attenborough and more recently I have enjoyed Rolf Harris' and Bill Oddies slant on animal welfare and animal study.

Now that I am here in Nether Auquhadlie, all my past experiences seem to be slotting into a useful place with The New Arc.

We were recently interviewed by the local press who asked us what our particular 'roles' were within the organisation? I guess that our background means that with Pauline's superior knowledge of the bigger animals, especially horses and my past experience with wildlife and the smaller animals we should have different roles, but the fact is that we pitch in to do whatever is required together. On a more practical basis I prefer to say that Pauline deals with the 'Head' side of the animal in so far as nutrition, behaviour, training and mental well being, while I deal with the 'Back' side - ( This usually involves a shovel and wheelbarrow!), and their 'housing' requirements, where I also have to thank Pauline's children, Aaron and April for their assistance.

My hope for the future is that through the work of The New Arc we can foster some appreciation of our animal life, both domestic and wild, which surrounds us all.

I would further ask that if you are fortunate enough to have any form of animal welfare organisation near you, then offer them your support in which ever way you feel able. To my knowledge, none of them are graced with a surplus of money, and all feel frustrated that they could do so much more if they only had the resources available. If you can't spare a donation, then why not offer some of your spare time or unwanted materials which they may find useful.

Since moving to Nether Auquhadlie from South Somerset last year, life has changed tremendously.

I was lucky enough that my parents allowed me to have pets and encouraged my wildlife interests, and I became involved with horses at an early age. I am delighted now to be able to help so many unwanted, abused and neglected animals back into health and hopefully have a happier life. It is fascinating, exhausting and rewarding all at the same time!

My particular areas are in dealing with the horses and ponies, and many are now being reschooled. We have recently started a "share a pony" scheme, where children can come and learn the basics of riding, stable management and general pony care. If you would like more information about this, please contact us.

I am constantly surprised how often we are called in to help and delighted that we are able to assist the local community (and much further afield) in many aspects of animal welfare, whether it be just for a chat, advice, or for rehoming. It is an emotional but heartwarming time when one of the animals in our care is adopted into a new home.

It is wonderful that the Centre has been so warmly received by our local community, and we have received so much support from local people, in the form of surplus goods, spare timber, feedstuff for the animals etc. We have made many new friends already, and hope this will continue, as the more people interested in our work the better for animal welfare as a whole. We also have a small band of regular volunteers whom we always delighted to see, and thank wholeheartedly for their support and assistance.

We hope you enjoy our site, please feel free to visit us again, we will be updating regularly. If you have any questions about animals, be it advice, wanting to find a new home for your pet, adoption or leasing or needing assistance with a rescue, please contact us either by telephone or by email. We look forward to hearing from you!

We try to have an "open door" policy, and welcome visitors, however please note that as yet we do not have suitable tracks, and as winter approaches wellies are compulsorary! Please do call in to have a look round, but we would appreciate visits if possible between 11.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. as we have a lot of animals here to feed, water and clean!

We do accept paypal donations, but for some reason the link does not stay on our site! Any ideas how to keep it on and stop it disappearing?

If there is anything you would like to discuss, please feel free to give us a call on

Directions: We are approx. half way between Ellon and Auchnagatt, on the A948 Ellon to New Deer road. From Ellon - continue past the turning for Drumwhindle up over the hill, past the turnings for Dudwick, then the turning for Stuarfield. Staying on the A948 you will see the Centre signs on the right hand side.