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.
Terapin with untreated infected shells. Taken by the RPSCA and volunteer threatened with arsenic in their tea for reporting it.
Long standing outdoor cat, friendly with volunteers, caught by dog. Volunteers were told the cat was dead, two day later the cat turned up with horrific injuries.
Sick cat, not given its medication, tablets still in the bottle with the label confirming the date of medication. Told by sheila that the vet refilled the same bottle - a lie.
Same cat dead 2 days later.
and 6 Milking goat, told was milked every day, not at all. Burst mammary, emaciated and not treated.
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.
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