Sadness as South Yorkshire Animal Rescue in Sheffield closes after 40 years

The charity and pet rescue shop in Walkley was established in 1983, and rehomed and rehabilitated thousands of animals, such as hedgehogs and cats over the decades.

The owners displayed a sign that claimed their closure was due to passing trade in the area “falling dramatically over the past couple of years.”

A poster displayed at the shop lists reasons for their closure. It says with passing trade “falling dramatically”, quality of charity shop donations decreasing, and the rise of online shopping increasing post pandemic, the shop is not “strong enough to survive.”

The poster also lists excessive amounts of parking fines being handed out on South Road as an issue that kills their trade.

A local resident said: “There used to be all sorts of shops in Walkley. Butchers, paper shops, wool shops.

“I think parking is a problem — we don’t like the fact that the council has blocked off access to Crookes, and I think more and more people shop online nowadays.”

The charity said the quality of charity shop donations has decreased, with many people selling their things on second hand sites such as eBay and Vinted instead of passing them on.

Another local said: “It’s very sad, but Walkley is a transient place There’s a lot of young people who move on so we tend to get a lot of new changes with businesses moving on.”

“People haven’t got money to keep the stores going and I have to go to the cheapest unfortunately,” they added.