A BIRD of Prey centre closed during the coronavirus crisis has set up a crowdfunding page to ensure they can feed their animals with supermarket Tesco coming forward to sponsor one of their new stars Boris the Golden Eagle.

Boris lives at the Thirsk bird of prey centre which is struggling to make ends meet while unable to open to the public or hold displays.

Falconer Kerry Badgery said: "We are a small family run Bird of Prey Centre. We have had to close to help stop the spread of this horrible virus which in turn has stopped all income to the centre.

"We have only been open for 20 days this season after coming out of a very hard winter. We have lost potential income from all our planned school and coach visits so far and we will in all probability still be closed over the Easter Holidays. The staff have made personal sacrifices and our priority is to maintain the high standards of care we always give our birds.

"We are trying to raise awareness, not just asking for donations as we are still selling our experience days and individual bird sponsorships which make great gifts and something to look forward to once the lockdown is lifted. We find ourselves needing support from our community."

Tesco agreed to sponsor Boris as part of the appeal. To help go to the crowdfunding site www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/tbopc