Never the same again

The coronavirus crisis is having a crippling effect on the finances of many charities, with some in danger of folding, says David Tomlinson

- David Tomlinson

WE ALL KNOW THAT life is unlikely ever to be the same again after the coronavirus outbreak has passed. Charities are being particularly badly hit. The GWCT reports: “While our research continues, our fundraising and member activity will take a considerable hit during this time.”

For another charitable organisation, the Newmarket-based Animal Health Trust (AHT), the situation is even more dire. The Trust is facing closure unless significant emergency funding can be found. A statement on its website says that a final decision on the charity’s long-term future will be made towards the end of this month.

The AHT was founded in 1942, its work concentrating on dogs, cats and horses. At the start of this year, it employed more than 250 people working on a wide range of research projects, covering such subjects as cancer, epilepsy and blindness.

Genome

One of its current major tasks is to create the UK’s largest canine genome bank. By sequencing the entire genome — all 2.4billion letters of DNA — of a large number of different breeds, the Trust hoped to radically increase our understanding of the canine genome and, by doing so, improve dog health.

The research was being undertaken in the Kennel Club Genetics Centre, established in 2009 with £1.2million in funding from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust (KCCT).