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RSPCA Hotline to help animals heats up during cold snap (From Smallholder)
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RSPCA Hotline to help animals heats up during cold snap
5:10pm Tuesday 19th January 2010
RSPCA inspectors are braving the elements to help farm animals suffering because of the recent arctic conditions that have battered the UK.
While the thaw continues around much of the country, a number of farms and smallholdings in the Coquet Valley, North East England were left struggling after snow drifts reaching waist-height isolated farms and left animals in danger.
Earlier this month, the RSPCA joined forces with the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and launched a new Farm Animal Welfare Hotline to help farmers and their animals caught in the snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures that brought parts of the UK to its knees. .
Acting chief inspector Mark Gent, said that they had received a call about several farmers in difficulty in Northumberland. There were fears that because the snow had cut them off from the rest of the country they were rapidly running out of feed, straw and fuel – which is essential to heat and light the barns.”
ACI Gent and Inspector Ian Smith responded to the calls as an emergency and were immediately deployed to the stricken area.
“After battling to reach them, which lead to us getting stuck for several hours ourselves, we finally managed to deliver food and fuel. We re-visited them again to check everyone was ok. At one point it took us an hour to drive five miles because of the treacherous driving conditions but it was all worth it to help the animals, and farmers, in need. It was a real team effort.”
ACI Gent added that in one instance 500 sheep were trapped in a field due to waist-deep snow. The RSPCA made preparations to deploy a helicopter that could drop feed for the stranded sheep if necessary, but luckily the farmer was eventually able to get food to them as the weather started to improve.
There is more snow forecast in some region this week so the Hotline may be busy for a while yet.
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