Animal rescue charity celebrates 40th anniversary in Biggleswade

An animal charity with strong links to the Biggleswade area will be celebrating its 40th anniversary next week.

The RATS Animal Rescue charity will celebrate 40 years of rescuing unwanted and stray animals with a celebratory event at its RATS charity shop in Biggleswade on Good Friday, March 29. The event will run from 10am to 3pm and is free to attend, with refreshments and cakes on offer. At noon a special anniversary cake will be cut by president, Linda Kendrick, and bottles of fizz will be opened to celebrate the important milestone.

Visitors will have the chance to immerse themselves in the history of RATS with a story that spans across four decades and browse boards featuring articles and memories from years gone by, before catching up to the present day with the chance to purchase the newest branded merchandise for 2024, from baseball caps to trolley coin keyrings.

There will also be a special 40th anniversary hamper raffle, kindly sponsored by RATS’ 2024 charity partner Marks & Spencer Biggleswade, and a sale of 50% off all clothing bought in the shop on the day.

Clare Markey, in charge of events at RATS said: “We have an exciting day planned to celebrate 40 years of rescuing animals – this is a huge milestone for us! We hope that as many people as possible will come down to support us on Friday 29 March and join in with the celebrations. We’ll have membership forms available on the day for anyone interested in becoming more involved - come along and see what exciting new membership offers we have!

“The charity is fortunate to have a wonderful team of dog, cat and small mammal fosterers, dog walkers, and other volunteers who give up their free time to help in the shop, arrange adoptions and home checks, help at events, and help with marketing and social media. Without these people we wouldn’t have been able to carry out our vital work of rehoming animals for so long, and we’re always looking for more people to join us. We want to inspire as many people as possible to help us to keep changing animals’ lives for the better, both now and into the future.”

RATS (short for Rehoming Animal Telephone Service) began as a charity in 1984 when a small group of dedicated animal lovers in the Bedford area got together and started a service putting those who needed to rehome an animal in touch with those who wished to adopt, all via the telephone. After a few years the charity was then registered in 1989.

The charity’s policy is to never put a healthy animal to sleep simply because no home has been found, and their aim is to ensure that animals are rehomed into suitable, loving, and secure homes, where they may live out the rest of their lives happily. They still rely heavily upon donations, and any support people can offer in this area is very welcome.

For more information on the 40th anniversary event, and RATS, visit: www.rats-animalrescue.co.uk/events or go to www.rats-animalrescue.co.uk to find out more about the charity and its work.