Animal rescue shelter near Kilkenny border left with ‘no choice’ but to close to new arrivals

A local animal rescue is set to close it’s doors to new arrivals due to overwhelming demand for space.

Gina Hetherington, founder of PAWS Animal Rescue in Mullinahone, says that much would have to be done to ensure that the centre could return to full operations in the new year.

Staffing and space shortages are among the reasons why the charity will not be able to take any more animals.

Gina told KCLR News that they have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to return to normality:

“We’re hoping to re-home a lot of the dogs we have here now to at least get the numbers down to about 60. If we can do that, we can regroup and see if we can cope with that”

She also said they have a lot of repair work that needs to be carried out:

“Kennels are falling apart, the drains are gone, the roof is leaking. There’s so many structural problems”