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© 2005 Three Owls Bird Sanctuary
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Sorry but the bird hospital is now closed!
Update; 4 week after closure
5th March 2010
It is now a month since Three Owls had to close it's hospital and aviary facilities in Rochdale. Since then we have secured quality life-long homes for all of the resident birds, the majority of which have already left to go to those sanctuaries. Each bird takes with it a suitable donation to ensure that the receiving sanctuary is not disadvantaged by taking on the bird(s) for a life-long commitment. The work on the nature reserve continues, thus providing the resident wild birds there with sanctuary for the rest of their natural lives.
Many of the aviaries have already left, and most are currently being dismantled ready for transporting to their new sanctuary homes where they will be re-erected. The two sanctuaries who will receive the special hospital cages are also preparing to receive these - special bases have to be built in advance, as these blocks of cages weigh up to a tonne each.
Whilst liasing with large numbers of sanctuaries throughout the length and breadth of the UK, it has been alarming as to just how many have not heard of either zoo licensing, or commercial licensing, and how either or both could have a devastating effect on them if applied in law. If one positive thing can come about from the sad closure of Three Owls, then it will be to help these other sanctuaries to prepare themselves and help them find ways to work around these laws - which were not designed to encompass wild bird sanctuaries and as we have always said; should not have been applied. Whilst many sanctuaries have been closed, some sanctuaries have managed to take on zoo licensing and work with it - but I have not found one who has managed to take on both zoo AND commercial licensing without considerable restructuring and expense, which was not possible to undertake on our Rochdale site. We continue to battle on trying to unravel the red tape, so that we can aim for a change in the law to protect other wild bird sanctuaries for the future. As ever, legal battles do take a long time to come to fruition, but we will get there in the end.
We have received a huge amount of support from around the world, and we have many people helping battle the legislation on our behalf. It will only be through such a united effort that we will be able to bring about the changes in law that are needed to protect wild bird care in the future.
Many thanks to you all for your continued kind support.
Nigel S Fowler
Trustee
Update; 3 week after closure
26th February 2010
It is now Week Three since Three Owls closed it's hospital and aviary work. We have been working hard with other sanctuaries throughout the UK, and are pleased to report that we have found homes for ALL the resident birds which were at Three Owls. There have been more homes offered than we had birds - but we are grateful for everyone's support throughout this difficult time. Sanctuary homes range from south Devon to the northern tip of Cumbria, from Norfolk to North Yorkshire, also right here in Lancashire. Each new home has been visited and approved by the trustees before any birds have been relocated.
Sanctuaries are also taking ALL of the hospital equipment including ALL of the special cages, and ALL of the aviaries, each of which will be put to good use in furthering the work of wild bird care at their new sanctuary locations. A huge thank you to everyone involved in the relocations.
Please be aware that I am on the roads a lot at this time, so be patient for replies to your emails and letters.
Nigel S Fowler
Trustee
Update; 2 week after closure
19th February 2010
It is now two weeks since the Sanctuary closed and we are well on with rehoming the birds. To date over eighty birds have left Three Owls, and only twenty-three are waiting on confirmed homes. Homes range from as far away as Norfolk, to North Yorkshire, and here in Lancashire and Greater Manchester. The aviaries are being dismantled as there are many sanctuaries in need, and the hospital cages and equipment are mainly going to help our other local Bird Sanctuary; Greenmount Wild Bird Hospital in Bury, so they are as prepared as possible for this year's baby bird season. We are very grateful to Shor-Line, the cage manufacturers, who will transport and install the cages into Greenmount's hospital for them (they are VERY heavy).
Help and support has come from all around the globe, and we are grateful for everyone's kind wishes. Although the hospital and aviary work will not re-open here in Rochdale, we are trying to ensure that as much support is given to Greenmount to enable them to cope with the extra workload this year. If you can help, I'm sure they would be thrilled to hear from you; whether it be with helping with the birds directly, or if you are able to help them with some maintenance and aviary erection. Their phone number is: 01204 884086.
Reserve work has already been planned in, and will commence as soon as the winter has ended.
If you need to get in touch with us at Three Owls, then please either write or email; we will endeavour to reply as soon as possible, but if we are away settling birds into new homes, then there may be a slight delay.
Many thanks for your continued support.
Nigel S Fowler
Trustee
Update; 1 week after closure
12th February 2010
It is now a week since the trustees had to take the sad decision to close the hospital and aviary side of Three Owls Bird Sanctuary & Reserve. This first week has been hectic and a whole rollercoaster of emotion.
Our first priority is to ensure the birds welfare, and I have been contacting Sanctuaries throughout the UK, to which end already one third of the resident birds have been found new homes. We are in negotiation with an owl sanctuary to take ALL of the owls. It is particularly important that we try and find a sanctuary who could take all 47, as many of them have lived together for over 30 years and we do not want to be splitting up these social groups if at all possible - as to do so may be too much, which would be further tragedy.
I am waiting to hear back with regard to the seagulls. The pigeons and hens are all ready to go , and have been found good homes.
Apart from the resident birds, there are also a number who are just waiting for the winter to end before they are released back to the wild. The majority of these will be released here at Three Owls. But not till the time is right for them.
My second priority is that of our staff and volunteers - many of which have worked and helped here for donkey's years. All of the staff are redundant, and two are homeless. Two have opted to retire, one may relocate, and two will job/house hunt. Personally I have received two job offers, but it is too soon as I still have lots to do here and will not leave until the last bird has gone.
Many people have asked what will happen to the land when everything has gone? Well, the land where the aviaries have stood will be cleared (the aviaries are being donated to needy wild bird sanctuaries), then the buildings and land at the top will be sold off. Once this is sorted, a small fund will be created to allow for the upkeep of the nature reserve, and the Trustees will decide how the extra money will be distributed. Options include buying up woodland to create further natural nature reserves, alternatively, the money could be distributed between other needy wild bird sanctuaries in the UK. This is quite some time off, and will be reviewed nearer the time. The nature reserve itself is already set into trust and is a permanently safe site for the birds and wildlife which reside in it.
The hospitals have been decommissioned and we will ensure that other sanctuaries benefit from the medical facilities contained therein.
I would like to say a huge 'thank you' for everyone's support. You have all been marvellous and it really has been a great help through these difficult days. Although as I write only ONE bird has left since we closed (a mute swan returning to the wild), there will be huge numbers leaving in the coming weeks to go to their new homes within the UK. People wishing to get in touch are able to write or email - please be patient for me to get back in touch, as I may be away settling birds into new homes, or simply dealing with the day-to-day matters which demand my attention.
Any new subscription and lottery monies received will be returned, donations towards relocating the birds and the work on the reserve are gratefully accepted - we still have some birds onsite to care for whilst all this work goes on.
One of our subscribers has organised a petition to ask for a change in the law, to prevent such a disaster from befalling other Bird Sanctuaries such as Three Owls in the future - please take a look at; http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/birdsanctuary/
Nigel S Fowler
Trustee
Closure
5th February 2010
It is with great sadness today, that we find ourselves having to close the doors on our hospital and aviary-work with the birds. It has become increasingly difficult in recent years to keep up with an ever increasing wall of red tape and legislation, and we now find there is no way forward for Three Owls to continue in its present form. The final straw arrived a few days ago in the form of a council letter.
“Discussions between yourself and Council officers on earlier occasions have allowed the Council to understand the current operating practises on site. Details of these have been relayed to the Council's legal team on two separate occasions; in both instances it has been deemed that the current operating practices lie within the scope of the Act, thereby requiring the Sanctuary to obtain a Zoo Licence. “
The Sanctuary Trustees have explored possible angles to try and meet the Councils requirements for Zoo Licensing, however, as the Charity has never been designed to be a zoo with all the implications that brings with it, then it is neither physically feasible nor financially viable to try and meet all the regulations or exemptions which Rochdale Council are insisting are met.
I am very much aware of all the hard work that the public have gone to in providing funding in answer to our Appeals; had this simply been a funding matter, then we may have stood a greater chance of overcoming it. However it is far more than that, funding has been tight, but we were getting through that. This legislation we have been faced with is insurmountable with the way Three Owls is set out to operate, I just wish they had presented the Act to us back in 1981 when it first came to power. As it now stands, Three Owls would be classed as a zoo, and the implications that come with that are onerous and far too costly both in terms of money and bird welfare – hence the difficult but essential decision to close.
From today we will not be accepting new casualties into the hospitals, and we will endeavour to find good homes at other sanctuaries for all the birds that cannot be released in the near future, or are permanent residents. The four-acre Nature Reserve is already set into Trust and will have a tidy-up and a tree-planting session this Spring, before being securely sealed up, and letting nature take over in the grounds. It is already home to a multitude of wild birds and animals, and it is imperative that whatever happens to the buildings and land at the top of the Sanctuary, that the Reserve itself remains intact and self-sustaining.
We will endeavour to ensure that as much help and guidance is given to other Bird Sanctuaries in the UK whose facilities may not currently be as good as ours were, and see where we can help out with the relocation of our own sheds, aviaries, and hospital equipment.
Closing the Sanctuary is very much a last resort, and this decision has only been taken when we are sure that there are no other viable options left open to us. It is however, a decision that the Trustees have collectively made, and it is important for the birds' welfare that WE make it, and don't have closure forced upon us. This ensures that we have the timescale needed to re-house the resident birds in the coming months, with Sanctuaries where we know they will have a home for life, as opposed to us being served 'Notice to Close' where we might only have had a couple of weeks and the chances of finding suitable homes much slimmer.
The funds we have at present will be used to continue the treatment of those birds already in our care, and suitable donations will accompany those birds which we are able to re-house elsewhere. The Lottery 300 Club will close as of today, and all outstanding monies refunded to the members. No new subscriptions or adoptions will be accepted, and anyone wishing to make a donation to Three Owls will have it made clear that they are donating towards the work on the Reserve. All restricted funds grant monies are being returned to their donors.
I really am sorry to have to ever give such sad news out. I have given the last 32 years of my life to getting Three Owls to be the best it could be, and the Trustees themselves have collectively given 102 years to the charity. Mrs Watkinson herself gave her life to trying to keep Three Owls afloat. We must take consolation that for every single bird saved (and we're talking tens of thousands)…. it has been worth it.
Nigel S Fowler
Trustee
Dr David J. Unwin, MB-ChB MRCGP
Nigel S. Fowler
Stewart M. F. Jennings BA Vet MB MRCVS Registered Charity No 298352
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