All Hart: How a Hampshire wildlife charity is trying to survive coronavirus

For Hart Wildlife Rescue, survival has relied almost solely on donations, but the full impact of the pandemic won’t be known for some time. What will that mean for the animals, asks Mark Drummon

Jupiter and Vesta, two malnourished fox cubs that were rescued, rehabilitated and released back into the wild by HART (Morgane Ristic)

The accommodation cubicles at Hart Wildlife Rescue in Hampshire house a motley crew. There are no pretty felines here, no handsome dogs. The weird and the ugly rule this roost, making strange noises as they poke their noses, snouts and beaks through the grilles of the cages. It’s like a miniaturised motel from a David Lynch film – a refuge for the downtrodden, the oddballs, the little loved.

The guests at the rescue centre have been through a lot. All are lucky to be here… most are lucky to be alive. They’ve been in scrapes, had run-ins, and many have been on the operating tables of the animal hospital at one time or another. And now they are going through the final stage of their stay. They are recuperating, regaining their strength, going through rehab before being released. And once released, they are on their own again. There are no kind families and warm, centrally heated houses waiting for these inmates. And there’ll be no more free meals. Hart is for wild ones, and back into the wild is where they’ll go.

It takes money to treat and feed the down-and-outs that rock up at the centre, to patch them up after whatever mishap they’ve been in and to set them on the road to recovery. And money is particularly hard to come by in the year of coronavirus. All across the country, registered charities are feeling the pinch, as their regular fundraising efforts have been stymied by the pandemic. And in many cases, the situation is dire.