About Us
FACTS ABOUT HULA
- HULA has saved over 31,000 animals since it was founded
- The average length of stay at HULA is one to three months before being re-homed
- HULA has a non-destruction policy for every healthy animal
- All animals are micro-chipped, vaccinated, and wormed
- HULA receives no Government funding and is an independent charity
THE CHARITY'S WORK
- The aims of the Charity are to relieve suffering and distress, by providing refuge and care to unwanted domestic animals and birds until suitable permanent adoptions can be found
- To provide help and advice to pet and animal owners or their families, who are unable to cope due to a change in their circumstances for example the absence of a family member, disablement or poverty
OUR HISTORY
HULA Animal Rescue is a small registered charity that has been helping animals and their owners since 1972. The charity was originally called the Bedfordshire Home for Unwanted and Lost Animals, but as this was rather a mouthful quickly got shortened to HULA.HULA was started by a concerned vet, his wife and other animal lovers, because a lady brought her young puppy into their veterinary surgery and asked for it to be put down “as I’m going on holiday and can’t afford to put the dog in kennels”. At that time, there were no animal rescue centres in Bedfordshire. The vet refused and Blackie became the first rescued animal.
So HULA was started in a back garden in Luton but due to the rapid increase in the numbers of animals needing help moved to its current site in Aspley Guise in 1978. A decision was taken by the then committee to plough all raised funds into the welfare of the animals at the Sanctuary and not keep back any funds for maintenance and building. Most of the animal houses and portacabins that you see now have been donated over the years.
HULA takes in unwanted and abandoned small animal pets (cats, dogs, rabbits, gerbils, birds etc.) for re-homing, but also rescues large animals and has goats, pigs, Shetland ponies, chickens, ducks, geese, sheep and donkeys as well as two very lively cows (1 x steer and 1 x heifer to be strictly correct) which will stay with us for the rest of their lives.
Animals come to us in various ways and for a variety of reasons, including domestic break-up, death or infirmity of the owner, hospitalisation, imprisonment, emigration, change of job, moving to new accommodation where pets aren’t allowed and sometimes because they have been abandoned.
- Our policy is never to put an animal to sleep unless under medical advice. We try to place them in caring homes with people who will really love them
