Wildlife In Need Of Rescue And Rehabilitation Ordered To Relocate In Long Island Town (PHOTOS)

A long-established animal rescue run by a Long Island couple is being forced to find a new location.

CBS reports the town of Oyster Bay has ordered Cathy Horvath and her husband , who have a license to run the rescue, to move from the residential neighborhood where they are temporarily located.

For the past 20 years, the couple has worked to care for and rescue foxes, red-tailed hawks, bats, possums, and other wild animals, many of them orphaned by urban development, from New York City and Long Island.

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Their services are free.

“We’re called on to do a job that nobody else wants to do and now we’re getting punished for it," Cathy Horvath said.

But some community officials cite the rescue as a potential safety hazard and claim residents have complained about noise levels.

Since the news, an online petition has been organized to stop the the rescue from being shut down.

"This is a valuable service being done for FREE," a signee wrote. "Instead of hassles, the town should be giving donations and gratitude to the WINORR organization. To shut it down over anonymous complaints is outrageous."

The petition has already garnered much support with over 28,000 signatures, just a thousand shy of the 29,000 goal.

Check out photos from the rescue's Facebook page below: