16 months or so after being broken into, Araglin Animal Sanctuary held a well attended open day on Easter Monday. The event took place from 12 noon until 6pm at which teas, coffee and light refreshments were served.

"The sanctuary cares for animals and birds that are no longer suitable as pets, injured wildlife and exotic species," explained Andrew Boyle who runs the operation.

Amongst the residents, there are lemurs, wallabies, an emu, dogs and owls. There’s also a kestrel that entered the sanctuary after breaking its wing. Although it has healed now, the bird won’t ever be able to return to the wild as the injury affected its ability to catch food as well as it did in the past.

“Many of the animals we have are ex-pets; for example pigs that have outgrown their original surroundings or more exotic animals that need specialist care. Due to the economic downturn people have found their circumstances changed and are no longer able to give the care needed to their pets.”

The primary purpose of the open day was to raise funds as the sanctuary receives no funding besides donations. However, there was also an educational side to proceedings with talks pertaining to the care these animals need including their dietary and housing requirements. Currently the public cannot adopt animals from the sanctuary although this might become a reality in the future.

This was the first open day at Araglin Animal Sanctuary since 2013 due to unforeseen circumstances.

“We were broken into in November 2013 and there was a lot taken including animals and birds such as rabbits, guinea pigs, hens and 8 parrots. No one was ever caught. We sort of lost heart after that for a period,” Andrew explained.

After having to come to terms with such a cruel setback, the sanctuary now hopes to have a few more open days during the summer months, the next one being earmarked for the May Bank Holiday weekend. "Families are assured of a great day out in addition to discovering more about the suitability of some of these animals as pets," says Andrew.

He and his friends at the Araglin Animal Sanctuary would like to thank everyone who gave so generously during the open day, adding that it costs roughly €400 per month to run the operation.

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