News / Petition to save Gott unit
AN ONLINE petition to stop the animal welfare charity Scottish SPCA from shutting down and selling off Shetland’s wildlife rescue unit in Gott has attracted more than 800 signatures in less than 24 hours.
The SSPCA closed its wildlife unit at the end of February after 20 years, saying it cost too much to run for the amount of creatures it handled.
However campaigners say that the unit, which was purpose built following the Braer oil spill in 1993, is a key element of the island’s oil spill contingency plan.
They also say injured or sick animals should not be put through the 16 hour journey from Shetland to the SSPCA’s new £3.5 million wildlife rescue centre at Fishcross in Clackmannanshire, which many would not survive.
A campaign has been launched calling on the SSPCA to reopen the unit or to hand it over to the local community, which paid three quarters of the cost of building it.
Jan and Pete Bevington, of Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary, launched an online petition on Monday morning since when it has been steadily attracting signatures.
“It would be a sin if Shetland lost this wildlife unit which so many people fought so hard for 20 years ago,” Jan Bevington said.
“We see no good reason why the SSPCA is doing this and we don’t understand how it costs them £13,000 a year to run.
“We’re sure the islands could raise the money to keep the centre open had they been asked, but we were never consulted even though Shetland paid £84,000 towards building it.”
She called on local people especially to sign the petition here.
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