Petition over north Shropshire cat rescue centre closure
More than 750 people signed an online petition in the space of a week to save a cat charity in Shropshire from closure.
People have given their support to volunteers at North Shropshire Cats Protection, who have been told their branch will close as part of restructuring by officials at the nationwide charity.
It comes after Peter Hepburn, the charity's chief executive, agreed to hold an independent review into the decision to close the branch, which covers the Market Drayton, Whitchurch and Wem areas.
The branch's activities were suspended earlier this month by Cats Protection. Officials said at the time it had been a "very difficult" but "correct" decision to make.
No-one from North Shropshire Cats Protection was available to comment today. But in a statement on the petition website, the volunteers said the charity would be left with one branch in Shropshire – in Telford – if the North Shropshire section closed down.
The statement said: "We feel many cats and kittens – domestic and feral – will suffer if we close as there are no other Cats Protection branches in Shropshire.
"Shropshire is a huge county and Shrewsbury and Ludlow have no Cats Protection branches and now North Shropshire Cats Protection is being closed. Telford Cats Protection surely will not cover all that area, and this will add extra work in large amounts."
The volunteers added that Mr Hepburn had contacted them and authorised a review into the decision.
To sign the petition visit www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/cats-protection-head-quarters-stop-cats-protection-north-shropshire-branch-from-closing
