Capricorn is Closed

Sheila Stewart has now been banned from being a trustee or management for 15 years

Animal Welfare issues and serious concerns 2014

Viewer discresion advised. This is the tip of the iceberg and only what volunteers managed to photograph.

7. Dead bird in reception, was there for 4 weeks, after sheila told every she dealt with all birds in the porch.

8. Weeks of dirt in the rabbit pens, rotting and with maggots (dangerous for rabbits)

9.Rabbit mixed with others with a burst eye, uncleaned, not separated from other rabbits. 

10. Dead rabbit, not in hutch found dead in the middle of the rabbits, volunteers were blamed and told it was a setup!

11. Rabbit with fly-strike, for several days

12. Bonfires in the middle of a field with animals, metal not removed and risk their welfare.

13. Scrap metal in in the blue bin pulled from the field with animals after several unlawful bonfires, including animal bodies.

14. Chickens dead in unclean pens and surrounded by filth.


Extraordinary General Meeting 2015

Volunteers started to fight back. Gaining trusteeships and formalising the process of change. Calling for an Extraordinary meeting as required in the constitution to expose some of the issues and give information to members who had been contacted with untruths from Sheila Stewart.

Financial Issues

In 2015 Capricorn Animal Rescue only conformed with 5 out of 99 of the Charity Commission's Internal financial controls for charities checklist.

A selection of the outgoing transactions were reviewed from the charity bank account for 2015, of which there are a total of 1,439 - only 73 debit card transactions were looked at. Of these 93% were questionable.

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Parties in charity shop by Sheila Stewarts son and his mates. Volunteers had seen boot full of booze on several occasions when he had gone to get things for the centre like binbags. Even at that stage we were confident those items would have been purchased with charitable funds. 

Sheila and her son then proceeded to sack the Mold charity shop manager when she started to ask questions about cash handling and how the son was able to just take money from the till for lunch for him and his mates.

Protests 2016

Leaflet from Protest in 2016

BBC Wales Undercover 2016

Week In Week Out investigation 

Inquiry Opened 2017

After 4 years of Volunteers complaining and investigating the issues, a formal Inquiry was opened under Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011.

An inquiry was opened by the Charity Commission on the 9th Feb 2017.

"there were clear and on-going serious regulatory issues relating to the administration of the charity by the trustees. These included inadequate financial controls, failure to safeguard and properly account for the charity’s assets, potential unauthorised trustee benefit and the trustees’ failure to act on regulatory advice. "

"In order to protect the assets of the charity, the Commission has taken steps to freeze the charity’s bank accounts under section 76(3)(d) of the Charities Act 2011."

Charity Commission 2016

Interim Manager Appointed by Commission 2018

Tel: 02070634000

Email: CAR@Mazars.co.uk

"Serious issues around culture, professionalism, capability, resource management and governance have been found to be unresolvable." - Mazars


Animals Removed 2018

“Some 137 animals have seen their futures safeguarded as a consequence of this operation, and the RSPCA will now work to ensure the animals enjoy the highest possible standards of care long into the future.” - RSPCA

Inquiry Report 2022