Wildlife charity set to pop-up in Swan Walk

Elephants, lions and hedgehogs will be popping-up in Swan Walk on Friday April 11 and and Saturday April 12 when a wildlife charity takes over a shop for two days.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Apr 2014, 11:35 BST
One of the hoglets Care for The Wild took in over the winter being released back into the wild this week SUS-140804-103136001One of the hoglets Care for The Wild took in over the winter being released back into the wild this week SUS-140804-103136001
One of the hoglets Care for The Wild took in over the winter being released back into the wild this week SUS-140804-103136001

Horsham charity Care for the Wild, based in Brighton Road, will be taking over a pop-up shop opposite Marks and Spencer, and promise something a little different for the shopping centre.

CEO Philip Mansbridge said: “We’ll be bringing some elephants, lions and hedgehogs down to Swan Walk, though unfortunately not the real animals!

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“But our work involves all of those animals and more, so we’ll be filling the shop with pictures, tips, games and gifts which should appeal to all the wildlife lovers in Horsham.”

Children will be able to become ‘Wildlife Heroes’ by helping save their favourite endangered species in a drawing competition, while adults can find out how they can ‘Dare for the Wild’ to celebrate the charity’s 30th Anniversary year.

“There’s a lot going on this year,” said Philip. “Our work protecting UK wildlife is as busy as ever – in just the last week we’ve had two baby fox cubs in the office, and we’re starting to release the ‘Autumn juvenile’ hedgehogs who we’ve helped through the winter and are now ready to get back into the wild.

“We’ve also been spending a lot of time battling against the badger cull that has been taking place, so we’ll be happy to talk to people about that if they want to find out more, or our work in Africa fighting poaching.

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“We’re also very excited about our Dare for the Wild programme, which gives people the chance to do something exciting while helping us help animals,” he added.

“Dares can be pretty much anything people want. A big one is a Skydive that we’re currently signing people up for – so any brave souls who fancy that can come and see us.

“But if anyone wants to Dare for the Wild they can do anything they like, be it dressing up like an elephant and running down West Street, or organising a fun fundraiser.”

The Care for the Wild pop-up shop will be open in Swan Walk Shopping Centre between 10am and 5pm. The event also forms part of Piazza Italia Fortnight.

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Care for the Wild has been working to rescue, protect and defend animals in need locally and around the globe for the past three decades.

For more information about the charity, visit www.careforthewild.com