Animal sanctuary facing closure due to hot weather

Animal sanctuary facing closure due to hot weatherImage caption, Water bills are also high as volunteers are having to make wallows for the pigsByHattie McCannDevonPublishedJust nowAn animal sanctuary is running out of money after having to pay "astronomical" food and water bills because of recent hot weather.The Hakuna Matata Animal Trust said it was buying £500 of food a week because grass on its site in Marldon, Devon, had died, and temperatures were "having an effect on everything".Founder Hayley Prescott said it was having to buy extra equipment "to create more shade" and its water bill was "a lot higher... because we are having to constantly redo waters and create mud baths for the pigs to help protect them from the sun".A sponsorship scheme has been set up to help keep the charity afloat, otherwise staff said they were worried it could close within two months.More news stories for DevonListen to the latest news for DevonAttributionSoundsImage caption, The food bill to feed the animals is £500 a week due to the lack of grassThe sanctuary was set up in 2021 to rescue Mustard the pig, who was at risk of having to go for slaughter if a home was not found for him. Since then, the team of volunteers have taken in sheep, chickens, turkeys, cats, alpacas, guinea pigs and rabbits. Ms Prescott described the thought of having to find homes for all the animals if the charity was to close as "terrifying".Volunteer Catherine Christie-Mutch said she wanted to set it up because they "have lovely supporters, people behind us, but there is only that much we can ask of these people".She added that this year had already been very hard with lots of animal loss and high vet bills."Every time it starts to look a bit brighter, something else happens, no time for the sanctuary to get back on its feet," she said.Follow BBC Devon on X, external, Facebook, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to spo...