Bloxwich animal sanctuary needs new home

A sanctuary which rehouses 800 chickens a month and shelters rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks and pigs, is desperately searching for a larger home after being overwhelmed with animals.

It is claimed the family-run Chicken Sanctuary in Bloxwich is in "desperate need" of a new home if it is to survive past the middle of next year.

Founder Stephen Sankey said the sanctuary and his dream of opening an urban farm for schoolchildren were in danger of collapsing.

Mr Sankey, aged 56, started re-housing ex-battery chickens at his semi-detached home in Well Lane four years ago.

From a starting point of just three chickens, his back garden-based sanctuary now rehouses up to 800 a month and is also home to other animals.

Thirteen poultry farms across the country deliver chickens to Mr Sankey, who has rehomed 20,000 since he began. He also started working with the RSPCA a year ago.

Mr Sankey, his wife Ann, 52, and sons Jason, 34, and Michael, 33, all work at the sanctuary, which operates in his 40ft by 30ft garden. They are looking for land of at least half-an-acre to use.

"We provide a vital service for some extremely vulnerable animals but we desperately need a new and much larger home if we are to survive," he said.

"There is just no room left at my house, my back garden is like a zoo. I just want a nice piece of land where the animals can live comfortably and I could open a free urban farm that the whole community, especially children, could enjoy and learn from.

"I have been applying for grants non-stop but I'm getting nowhere because I don't have charity status, for which you have to earn over £5,000.

"It would also be much easier to get grants if it was animals such as dogs, cats and horses but because the majority of my animals are ex-battery chickens it's much harder to get any donation.

"Our most pressing concern is locating a new home otherwise our future will be at risk. If anyone can help, either by offering a site, donating or telling us where we might be able to find one, I'd be eternally grateful."

Mr Sankey is on 24-hour alert from the RSPCA for whenever rescued, injured or abandoned birds need rehousing. Anyone with information can call Mr Sankey on 07742 913184.