The COVID-19 pandemic has altered life for many horse owners in Britain, forcing them to relinquish their animals as financial resources to care for them dwindle. Many rescues and adoption centers that assist horses in Britain are full, but they are preparing for an even more difficult winter as job losses continue and finances become tighter.
Blue Cross for Pets is a rehoming organization that helps horses, cats, dogs and other small pets in England, Wales and Scotland. The organization also has animal clinics and hospitals that assist sick and injured pets when their owners are struggling to afford the veterinary fees.
Blue Cross has created a “Home Direct” service to place horses into new homes straight from their current situation, eliminating the need for the horse to be moved more than once. This resource also takes the pressure off charities that may already be struggling and allows them to focus on welfare emergencies.
Blue Cross staff thoroughly assess each horse and then place it on the charity's website to find a new owner. Once a new potential owner is located, Blue Cross arranges and oversees the initial visit and introduction process. If the match is a good one, the horse is taken from its old home directly to its new home, reducing stress on the horse as it acclimates to one new environment instead of two. In each step of the process, the horse is treated as if it were living at a Blue Cross center.
Since its launch in 2015, Blue Cross Home Direct has helped 87 horses. Any horse can be a candidate for Home Direct if it passes a health check and is not on any long-term medications. The goal of Home Direct is to assist horses by finding them new homes while they are still healthy, instead of waiting to offer help when they are potentially in a welfare crisis.
Thus far in 2020, the United States has reported record numbers of equine adoptions, but equine rescue and adoption advocates are unsure if and when a large influx of horses needing help will come because of the pandemic.
Read more at HorseTalk.
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