Anti-hunt group criticised over appeal for ‘cruel’ fox hospital
AN anti-hunting group was forced to apologise after raising funds for a “fox hospital” run from a cramped room filled with cages.
Keep the Ban promised to return followers’ cash after complaints that the animal “sanctuary” that they were raising money for was “cruel” and being run by someone without veterinary experience.
Keep the Ban posted two appeals to fund the fox hospital – one for £300,000 to convert a van into a mobile clinic, and the second to adopt a fox with a regular £2 payment as “these beautiful animals need our help more than ever”.
But it was forced to offer refunds after complaints and an investigation into the “hospital” by a rival anti-hunting group, Foxhunting Evidence UK, which described the facility as ‘‘cruel’’.
In a statement, Rob Pownall, the founder of Keep the Ban, said: “On reflection, it was the wrong call to support the appeal for donations and I did not undertake the sufficient due diligence and background checks.”
He added that he had “dedicated my life to ensuring the protection of wildlife and I let my passion take over from making the best judgement in this situation” and had since called the RSPCA.
According to donation pages still available online, the fox hospital had raised over £27,000 from more than 1,000 donors.
It is unclear if the facility made further cash, but most fundraising options are now closed to new donations.
Keep the Ban said that all “donors have either been refunded or notified that their donation will be sent to a registered wildlife rescue charity”.
Mr Pownall said that he had visited the fox hospital and the animals “appeared healthy” but there was a “lack of space” which is why they began fundraising.
Tim Bonner, of the Countryside Alliance, said it was “yet another example of extremely dubious fundraising in the animal rights world”.
“Groups like Keep the Ban are unregulated and unprincipled,” he said. “They use animals to raise funds for political campaigns and even for personal profit. Groups that really care about animal welfare should not be duping their supporters into handing over money to murky causes.”
The man running the hospital said that he was subject to a “vendetta”.
A spokesman for the RSPCA said: “Welfare concerns have been raised and we have been working with the police. If anyone has information they can contact us or Essex police.”
‘Groups that care about animal welfare should not be duping supporters [into backing] murky causes’