Member Article

Approved Food delivers some animal magic to hedgehog sanctuary

Surplus online food retailer Approved Food is well known for its generosity, having donated items worth thousands of pounds to various charities in recent months.

However, it’s not just humans in crisis who have received a lifeline – the four-legged residents at a number of animal sanctuaries have also received some welcome food parcels.

These include Shelley Hedgehogs, in Approved Food MD Andy Needham’s home town of Huddersfield, that cares for injured and orphaned hedgehogs.

The company has donated a consignment of cat food, puppy pads, gloves, anti-bacterial wipes, washing powder and kitchen roll to the sanctuary, run by Mel Fitton.

Mel explained why the donation was so important: “Hedgehog numbers have declined severely over the years and there are now less than a million hedgehogs in the UK, compared with the estimated 36 million in the 1950s, so it’s clear why we need to ensure the survival of these endearing little animals,” she said.

“We were thrilled to receive these valuable supplies; we are a small rescue centre and rely entirely on the generosity of like-minded hedgehog-lovers to enable us to rehabilitate injured and sick hedgehogs.

“This donation was especially valuable as we have a large number of orphaned hoglets with us at the moment who have to be kept in an incubator, where they eat, sleep and generally trash the place! They need cleaning out three or four times a day so we do go through items such as wipes and puppy pads very quickly!

“On behalf of myself and our hedgehogs, a sincere than you to Approved Food for this much-needed support.”

The company’s charity volunteer, Neil Waine, has also arranged for donations of feed to go to Millhouse Animal Sanctuary in Sheffield, that has been rescuing, caring for and rehoming animals in need since 1948.

Freshfields Animal Rescue in Liverpool also collected several bags of animal feed while Approved Food’s Barnsley ‘neighbours’ Cannon Hall Farm have received provisions to help feed the ponies, cattle, goats and other animals.

Dawn Hurst, operations manager at Freshfields, said: “We have recently received a large donation from Approved Food, containing good quality cat, dog, rabbit, small animal and farm animal foods, as well as cat litter. This is very helpful to the rescue centre, especially during this difficult time. It was also lovely to find something there for all of our animals – not something that happens often!

“We really do appreciate Approved Food thinking of us – as a charity we rely solely on donations – and help such as yours means we can continue doing the much-needed work we do. Thank you so much, Approved Food!”

Approved Food MD Andy Needham said: “It’s important not to forget about the animals in these troubling times, so we are always happy to donate much-needed items to people who are caring for sick and injured animals. I used to love watching Animal Magic with Johnny Morris when I was younger and that’s something that’s always stayed with me, so we’re happy to help in any way we can.” Find out more about Shelley Hedgehogs on Facebook.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kate Wobschall .