Public sector communications & public affairs. Loves animals, the natural environment, walking, running and kindness.
Gloucestershire
Joined March 2011
- Tweets27.9K
- Following1.7K
- Followers1.2K
- Likes17.5K
Hilary Allison retweeted
7 unsponsored dogs left. Shy Seamus is next. I will be very grateful if anyone can help with the £46 he needs this month ❤️ tinyurl.com/DogsUnsponsored
Hilary Allison retweeted
🔊Fireworks.
Just don't.
Please.
It's so cruel.
Stress kills wildlife.
Please choose kindness.
We have so many ways of entertaining ourselves which don't involve the suffering and death of animals.
Hilary Allison retweeted
Thank you so much, you lovely, lovely people, for helping to spread this warning far and wide, and helping to save lives.
Aren't you brilliant?😊
I'm thrilled that this topic is sparking such important conversations, and is still generating broad media coverage, with the advice being featured across various mainstream press and community networks, both here and internationally.
And I'm delighted to see that instead of cherry picking a snippet, they've published my whole tweet, which is really brilliant news.
I’m incredibly grateful to see it resonate so widely, and awed at the sheer amount of kind compassionate people working together to get this important message amplified.
Thank you to everyone who has read and shared it!
I am awed at the uptake, and so grateful for your amplification - you will have saved so many lives.💞
xitter.gq/HedgehogCabin/status/2…
Halloween artificial cobweb material:
It may be a bit of fake fun for you, but it's a very real and terrifying death for them.
And it's not only birds.
Last year I had my first call of the season of a hedgehog trapped in this horrific fake 'cobweb', made especially for gullible halloweeners to spread over their greenery, trapping all unsuspecting birds, insects and mammals, including hedgehogs.
The fine synthetic fibers are difficult for animals to see and can quickly wrap around their legs, spines, and neck, leading to severe injuries.
When a hedgehog struggles to free herself the web tightens, cutting off circulation and causing deep wounds.
These constriction injuries often lead to permanent damage or death.
Unfortunately the call was from Manchester, so all I could do was talk them through getting the poor creature to a rescue.
Clearly she had been trapped there for at least one night, and her struggles had pulled the strong nylon strands so tightly that one of her toes had been amputated.
Can you imagine the pain and the sheer terror?
And then seeing dawn approach, while hanging there, tightly bound and helpless.
Aside from being stressed, dehydrated, starving and exhausted to the point of near death, she also had horrific bite/peck wounds to her face, where she had been held there, helpless, unable to curl and defend herself, while a predator tried to eat her alive.
If you have used this deadly cruel trap to 'decorate' your garden, please take it down now.
Please don't be conned by the greedy makers and sellers of this rubbish into hurting defenceless animals.
Hilary Allison retweeted
Halloween artificial cobweb material:
It may be a bit of fake fun for you, but it's a very real and terrifying death for them.
And it's not only birds.
Last year I had my first call of the season of a hedgehog trapped in this horrific fake 'cobweb', made especially for gullible halloweeners to spread over their greenery, trapping all unsuspecting birds, insects and mammals, including hedgehogs.
The fine synthetic fibers are difficult for animals to see and can quickly wrap around their legs, spines, and neck, leading to severe injuries.
When a hedgehog struggles to free herself the web tightens, cutting off circulation and causing deep wounds.
These constriction injuries often lead to permanent damage or death.
Unfortunately the call was from Manchester, so all I could do was talk them through getting the poor creature to a rescue.
Clearly she had been trapped there for at least one night, and her struggles had pulled the strong nylon strands so tightly that one of her toes had been amputated.
Can you imagine the pain and the sheer terror?
And then seeing dawn approach, while hanging there, tightly bound and helpless.
Aside from being stressed, dehydrated, starving and exhausted to the point of near death, she also had horrific bite/peck wounds to her face, where she had been held there, helpless, unable to curl and defend herself, while a predator tried to eat her alive.
If you have used this deadly cruel trap to 'decorate' your garden, please take it down now.
Please don't be conned by the greedy makers and sellers of this rubbish into hurting defenceless animals.
Hilary Allison retweeted
THIS is what your donations are becoming. ❤️
Old tyres turned into strong, long-lasting dog beds.
Quick-drying fleece bought by the roll.
Blankets stitched locally by hand.
Then fitted straight into the beds for the animals who will need them through the cold nights ahead.
We are trying to stretch every donation as far as possible — buy smart, make locally, waste less, help more animals.
Winter is already here at night, and we still have a long way to go before this huge shelter is warm enough for everyone.
A huge THANK YOU to every person helping us prepare. ❤️
Please keep supporting and SHARING — we still need many more beds, blankets and winter supplies.
🌐 Donate:
tawf.org.uk/donate
❄️ Winter Appeal:
tawf.org.uk/winter-appeal-20…
Hilary Allison retweeted
Go for a walk on almost any farm in Britain and ask yourself where a hedgehog might find food, water or shelter there. The rough edges, pockets of scrub, areas of unkempt long grass, piles of dead wood, marshy wet areas and ponds, all tidied away. There’s nowhere left for them.
Hilary Allison retweeted
Only weeks old — and already old enough to know fear.
Their mother was killed.
We brought her body with us so she could at least be buried with dignity. We will not show that here.
Her babies are now safe with us. Frightened, confused… but alive. We will update you on them soon.
CULLING IS NOT THE ANSWER.
STERILISATION IS.
Killing one mother only leaves terrified babies behind and the cycle continues.
Please SHARE this loudly — especially outside Pakistan. The more international voices that speak up, the harder this cruelty becomes to ignore.
And please support our sterilisation programme so we can fight this with a humane solution, not killing.
🌐 tawf.org.uk/donate
Hilary Allison retweeted
Even after alot of begging the response is low and we doubt we will be able to hit our target this month 😢. It only takes 657 kind people donating just £10 each and we get to clear all our dues. Please help the suffering animals of Pakistan gofund.me/aed24c0af
Hilary Allison retweeted
Just a year ago his beautiful mother was living on the streets of Thailand after a life of being used for breeding. We found her scavenging around for food.
To see Sienna now in Wales, on daily walks in the forests and being spoiled rotten is the thing of absolute dreams.
Hilary Allison retweeted
A smile to start your weekend.😍
Hedgehogs have survived, unchanged, for 15 million years.
15 million years!
Just think - our humble little garden visitors once walked with woolly mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers.
They survived so well because they are resourceful, adaptable, courageous and problem-solving.
Just look at how this clever boy solves the problem of the feeder being bricked up.
You wouldn't expect that level of intelligence from a humble little hedgehog, would you?😊
The fact our hedgehogs are on the brink of extinction now, despite surviving persecution, drought, famine, and the ice age, is a serious indicator of how just how profoundly endangered our fragile ecosystem has become.
Please do what you can to help these gentle, clever little animals.
While hedgehogs who are healthy and well nourished will have hibernated now, those who are sickly or underweight are still around, desperately searching for a kind garden that provides.
Please leave out a dish of fresh clean water each evening, by your back and front door. A dish of dry kitten food kept safe inside a feeder would be a life saver.(Please see hedgehogcabin.info/making-a-… for how to make one).
Remember to leave the leaves where they fall, and keep the edges of your garden and at least one corner uncut and undisturbed all winter, to allow natural food to safely live and grow.
Hilary Allison retweeted
If your visiting hedgehogs have disappeared into hibernation - well done! 🥰
Hedgehogs will only attempt to enter the hibernation process if they are healthy and have enough brown fat to see them though winter.
Thanks to you and your kind provisions of safe food and clean water they have reached that happy state.
Hedgehogs occasionally rise from hibernation for a top up, so please keep providing food and clean water all through the winter.
Covering the biscuits with a saucer will keep dry cat food fresh for around 3 days, before it starts losing its crunch, aroma, and nutritional quality.
Here's dear sweet Anya, who rose from her hibernation last night for a top-up snack, before going back to bed. She has been in hibernation since 1st September.
The babies she gave birth to here in June dispersed when they were old enough, but sweet Anya decided the maternity wing of the winter cabin makes a nice home, thanks very much, and has stayed.😁
Anya's history: xitter.gq/HedgehogCabin/status/2…
Darling Anya who arrived so terribly sick has responded really well to her treatments and is now in tip-top health. She is due to go home tomorrow.
Well, she was....
As you can see from my bodycam footage, Anya gave birth this morning.❤️
I'd lifted her bed box out, cleaned her pen, and was about to open the box to weigh and medicate her when I noticed the wet lid lining.
From experience I've seen birthing fluids evaporate with mum's body warmth then condensate on the lid, wetting the lining, so I went very carefully.
What we catch a quick glimpse of here is a baby she's literally just given birth to.
Hoglets are born with soft white spines, which are hidden beneath a fluid-filled layer of skin to protect the mother during birth.
This is what you see here.
Within 1 to 2 hours this protective skin shrinks and retracts, allowing the baby's white spines to break through and become visible.
From now on sweet Anya will be left hands off, undisturbed in the seclusion of her pen, allowing her to bond with her new babies in peaceful solitude.
Anya's history: xitter.gq/HedgehogCabin/status/2…
Hilary Allison retweeted
Four small children arrived at our gate today with this tiny donkey baby, asking us to pay them for him. They said the owner had sent them to sell him to us.
As everyone knows, TAWF does not buy or sell animals. We asked the children to bring the owner — or at least an adult — so we could understand who this baby belongs to and what the real story is.
But they kept insisting on taking him back.
We simply could not feel comfortable letting him leave without knowing where he had come from, where his mother was, whether they really had permission to bring him, or what would happen to him next.
So, rather forcefully, we kept the baby with us and told them to send the owner.
One thing is already very clear: he is far too young to have been separated from his mother.
And he is absolutely terrified. 💔
For now, he is safe with us — and we are not going to send him away until we understand exactly what is happening.
Now we wait to see whether the owner comes, where his mother is, and what happens next.
Fingers crossed for this frightened little baby. 🤞🫏❤️
Please support our rescue and animal welfare work:
🌐 Website: tawf.org.uk/donate
Hilary Allison retweeted
We now just need 848 supporters donating £10 each and we hit our target. That would mean us being able to clear our debts and continuing with our lifesaving work. Please your £10 will be the reason that a suffering animal gets the help it so needs. Donation link in replies 👇🏻
Hilary Allison retweeted
I COULD CRY HAPPY TEARS TODAY. 😭❤️
ANOTHER 75 WARM BEDS HAVE ARRIVED!
That means 150 beds are now here — because YOU helped us buy them. ❤️🐾
And things are moving everywhere. Wood for our first 20 cat houses is already ordered, our team is working on the heating system, and I’ll soon share a little video of that with you too.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ❤️
This is our FIRST winter at our new sanctuary, with nearly 1,000 rescued animals depending on us — and seeing these preparations coming together means more than I can tell you.
We still have hundreds more beds to arrange, more cat houses to build, heating, bedding, fuel and heavy tarpaulin covers for the open sheds.
But we are getting there — one donation at a time. ❤️
Could you sponsor just ONE BED?
One bed = one animal off the freezing floor. 🐾
❤️ WINTER APPEAL:
tawf.org.uk/winter-appeal-20…
PLEASE DONATE. PLEASE SHARE.
Let’s get every one of them ready for winter. ❤️🐾
Hilary Allison retweeted
This is not a story of poverty.
These people are landowners; much of the surrounding land belongs to them.
The real issue is lack of education and awareness. When a certain way of life has been accepted as normal for generations — even for themselves and their own children — how can we expect them to automatically understand that animals deserve something better?
This is why EDUCATION is at the heart of our work.
The free treatment we provide, the help we offer and the relationships we build with these communities all have one purpose: to get close enough to earn their trust and help them understand that the way animals have traditionally been treated is not okay.
And this education must go hand in hand with our Second Chance for Working Donkeys project.
Our goal is to replace donkey carts with motor rickshaws and retire working donkeys from labour. But until we can reach every donkey, education remains essential. These families also keep cows, buffaloes and other livestock, so changing attitudes towards animal welfare can protect far more than one donkey.
We cannot create lasting change simply by judging people from a distance. We have to work with them, educate them and give them a real alternative.
The injured donkey in this video is now safely with us and she is okay. We will share an update on her very shortly. ❤️
Please support our work:
🌐 Website:
tawf.org.uk/donate
Hilary Allison retweeted
I don't live in the middle of the New Forest.
This is a tiny triangle of woods at the end of my road.
But the water I put out there every night is the only water available for miles.
Despite some recent rain, the ponds, rivers and streams are all still dry from the drought.
So these poor deer, along with badgers, foxes, squirrels, hedgehogs, and all manner of birds are forced to travel miles each night to get to this water.
It's a lifesaver for them.
Please be a lifesaver for your local wildlife.
A dish of water in the back and front - even if you don't have a garden - may mean the difference between life and death to some poor struggling animal.
Please keep it full, and keep it clean, every night.
Please don't give up, it may take a while for the wildlife to find you.
Every single hedgehog through these hospital doors this year has been suffering from dehydration.
It's heartbreaking, hearing these dear sweet animals gasp their last breath, knowing that if someone, somewhere, only turned on their tap and put out some water this precious life would have been saved.
Our wildlife are dying of thirst.
In this green and pleasant land.
Weather and conditions have changed, and we need to change too, and help out those less fortunate than ourselves.
It's such a small effort, for such a huge reward.❤️🩹