Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation in Eynsford. Picture: Eagle Heights<\/p>\n
The precautionary decision was taken on veterinary advice to protect the birds and animals at the centre which will now reopen on Saturday (January 10).<\/p>\n
Some bird-related attractions will still be temporarily unavailable due to government rules, but in recognition of this, all entry tickets will be offered at 50% off.<\/p>\n
The decision follows confirmation there have been no recent local cases or outbreaks, and that recent testing of a deceased wild bird found on site returned a negative result for avian influenza.<\/p>\n
Director Samantha Leonard said reopening has brought a strong sense of relief and renewed energy to the centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge relief and, honestly, it feels like a celebration,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Eagle Heights Director Samantha Leonard<\/p>\n
\u201cEagle Heights was never designed to be quiet or empty, and being able to welcome people back onto the site again brings the place back to life.<\/p>\n
\u201cReopening during our 30th anniversary year makes it even more meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the closure, essential staff remained on site to care for the animals while guidance from vets and the Animal and Plant Health Agency was followed.<\/p>\n
Ms Leonard said the period had been demanding for the non profit centre, which depends on visitors for its income, but highlighted the role played by public support.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an incredibly challenging and frustrating time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a non profit that relies heavily on visitors, being closed had a real financial impact, but the hardest part was seeing the centre so quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe support we received from the public during that time genuinely kept us going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation in Eynsford will reopen – but some attractions are still on hold Picture: Eagle Heights<\/p>\n
She also shared a message for visitors returning to the site.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for sticking with us,\u201d she said. \u201cYour support through vouchers, adoptions, donations and kind messages has meant everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t wait to welcome people back and share Eagle Heights with them again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eagle Heights is one of the UK\u2019s largest bird of prey centres, caring for more than 50 species.<\/p>\n
The site is also home to rescued animals including meerkats, alpacas, huskies and pigs, with a focus on education, conservation and connecting people with nature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An animal sanctuary will reopen to visitors after a temporary closure linked to bird flu outbreak. Eagle Heights…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2851,193,3843,59,102,192,191,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-359628","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-charity","10":"tag-dartford","11":"tag-gb","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-human-interest","14":"tag-kent","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/359628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}