The organisation they founded, Owl Rescue Centre, is based at Hartbeespoort in the North-West Province and now takes in more than a thousand owls every year through their rescue efforts. The owls are rehabilitated and when they can survive on their own in the wild, are released in the sanctuary – a farm located within a 12,000-hectare conservancy.
Unfortunately, earlier this month, a devastating fire ripped through the Owl Rescue Centre, causing damage to the 12 owl enclosures, to the tune of at least R300 000.
Fortunately, these were pre-release enclosures and the owls had already completed their rehabilitation and were almost ready for their final release into the wild. Staff were alerted and immediately opened the enclosures to release the owls, so fortunately there were no injuries.
HOT 102.7FM immediately put a call out to its listeners, asking for assistance, and incredibly, very quickly Owl Rescue Centre managed to receive funding to rebuild eight of the 12 enclosures, which is fantastic.
Bear in mind that each enclosure costs about R35 000 to rebuild, so it’s not an insignificant cost.
Hot Cares recognises this, as well as the fantastic work that Brendan and Danelle do, and we were all devastated to hear of the damage done by this fire.
Fortunately, Hot Cares is in a position to help and will be funding the rebuilding of an enclosure to the value of R35 000 required.
That does still leave Owl Rescue Centre a few enclosures short, but they are now a long way towards rebuilding their facilities and getting properly back on their feet, so they can continue doing such amazing work for these beautiful birds.
If you are in a position to donate towards making a meaningful difference or have a story to alert us to, or a programme you’d like to partner with Hot Cares on, please get in touch with us by emailing info@hotcares.co.za.
