We did it!
As most of you have heard, the Foundation has been going through the process of moving locations over the last year. We are very excited about this because our old facility was restricted in regards to the amount of animals and visitors we could have. This move will enable us to help more animals in need as well as accommodate and educate more visitors. We hope the new location will enable us to reach out to more people in the community and teach them about the importance of protecting our wildlife. However, moving is always a difficult and expensive process, and it is even more so when there are many large animals involved. There were times when some of us began to think we would not be able to meet the October 31st deadline Butte County gave us. Through a lot of hard work from dedicated volunteers and members of the community we were able to meet that deadline.
We purchased the new property last year, and began construction of cages in May 2010. With all of the cages finished the animals moved in October 2010. The move went extremely smoothly and all of the animals are now settling in and enjoying their new homes. Unfortunately, this does not mean that the battle is over. Since we were limited on time, we were unable to complete certain projects, such as building permanent roofs over the chain link ceilings rather than having to tie tarps over them. We are also in the process of constructing exercise areas where the animals can safely play and run outside of their normal enclosures. We are also still in need of walkways, large ballast rock, and an entrance sign. These things are important to us, but the needs of the animals have to come first. We always make sure that they have everything they need in order to be healthy and content. When it is a financial struggle every day, projects that are not immediately essential often fall to the wayside. Since the new facility is not yet open to the public, and we do not know when we will be able to open, finances are very limited and we are more dependent now than ever on the kindness and generosity of private donors.
We at the Barry R Kirshner Wildlife Foundation, both the two and four legged residents, would like to thank the community, businesses, and families for all of their financial and physical support. Literally hundreds of people banded together in order to help us achieve this goal. We could not have done it without each and every one of you.
Roars of Thanks! We hope everyone will come visit us soon.
Images from our move:
April 6th, 2011 at 10:59 am
Please know that our donation is made in the memory of Tom Poscich. We will always love him, Carol, Eric, and Mollie Cherson
June 2nd, 2011 at 12:38 am
I’m going to Barry Kirshner Wildlife Foundation tomrrow.