Waggy Tails Website

Why This Matters Right Now

Waggy Tails Rescue has served Dorset and Hampshire for 30 years, rescuing and rehoming more than 5,000 dogs and other animals. Their current site in Wimborne — once suitable — can no longer meet rising needs. Demand for rescue spaces increased dramatically around the pandemic and continues to grow.

The area around their existing facility has become heavily built up, noisy, and increasingly unsuitable for vulnerable animals. The charity has been searching for a larger, quieter sanctuary for seven years.

The charity purchased Little Lions Farm at the end of 2022 — 17 acres of fields, woodland, outbuildings, and a cottage. The site is spacious, calm, and ideal for dogs who’ve experienced neglect, trauma, or uncertainty. It was also chosen to allow Waggy Tails to rescue other animals, including horses, donkeys, goats, hens, and to assist with wildlife rescue and animal release.

Waggy Tails commissioned a 10-page Management Plan to ensure responsible use of the land and to satisfy ecological concerns. They confirmed dogs would not be walked on the small heath across the trailway.

What Went Wrong

Despite pre-application guidance that green-belt issues “would not be a problem,” Dorset Council refused the application in October 2024. Natural England then issued an objection based on a future possibility that:

One dog might, at some unknown stage in the future, set a paw on the nearby small heath.

This was said despite:

• Waggy Tails owns 17 acres of enclosed land
• A written Management Plan preventing off-site dog walking
• Natural England acknowledged the dogs would not be walked on the heath “at present”
• Three years of careful ecological stewardship by the charity

The outcome is devastating!

What We Are Asking For

We are respectfully asking Natural England to:

• Reconsider its objection, based on the Management Plan and the fact that the charity has 17 acres of space to exercise and care for dogs and other animals safely.
• Engage with Waggy Tails Rescue to agree on proportionate, practical, and enforceable conditions.
• Provide a pathway for ecological approval — one that protects the health and allows this longstanding local charity to continue its vital work.
• This petition does not ask Natural England to weaken ecological protections. It asks for a balanced, proportionate solution grounded in facts, not distant hypotheticals.

Why It’s Urgent

If the land sells, the charity loses the sanctuary.
Dorset loses desperately needed rescue capacity.
And dogs and other animals in crisis lose the space they urgently need.

Waggy Tails has served this community for decades. This move is not an expansion for convenience — it is essential for welfare.

Final Note

This decision has left the charity stunned and deeply disappointed. Similar permissions have been granted to other organisations in the area, making this ruling feel unjust and inconsistent. The proposed facility was designed to meet urgent needs—providing safe, temporary shelter for animals in crisis and improving welfare standards.

Waggy Tails Rescue has always operated with transparency, compassion, and a commitment to the environment. Yet, Dorset Council and Natural England have failed to offer clear guidance or meaningful support. The charity’s trustees feel let down by a system that should be working with them, not against them.

Please Add Your Name
Help us show Natural England that the community supports a balanced solution:

🐾 Protect the heath
🐾 Protect the wildlife
🐾 Protect Dorset’s rescue dogs and other animals
🐾 Let the sanctuary move forward responsibly

Your signature truly matters.  Thankyou!