The Farm Animal Sanctuary School Lane Middle Littleton Evesham WR11 8LN 01386 834500
Dear Friends and Supporters, We wish all of you a peaceful and pleasant Christmas. Thank you all for the amazing support we've had from you this year, you've helped to keep our spirits up during what has been a difficult, frustrating, and worrying year.
Roundup of 2018. None of us will be sad to see the end of 2018. For the first few months we battled through storms, floods, snow, freezing temperatures, frozen taps, frozen water troughs, chilblains, red noses, and runny noses. Spring never really had chance to get going, soon we were in a drought situation which lasted for months. The Spring which fed sheep and horses dried up, so did the pond. It became a summer of sunburn, sweat, insect bites and wasp stings, and carting hundreds of litres of water round to thirsty animals every day. Nick, one of our newer members of staff, had a particularly uncomfortable time, he was targeted twice by angry wasps. Unfortunately for Nick they'd found a small tear in his work trousers, near the belt end, and being curious little insects, crept unseen into the dark depths. A frenzy of waspish bad temper followed, whatever they expected to find obviously disappointed them, they went into attack mode. It might just have been the heat? Nick didn't have to be rushed off on a blue light, but he did have a bit of a funny walk for a few days. Without rain, the fields scorched to dust. Our 500 plus animals, who had spent the winter in the barns, looking forward to grazing on lovely lush fresh grass at turnout, gazed down on what appeared to resemble the Australian scrubland. Life had to go on, barns began to empty of hay, which was made to keep animals throughout the winter. The price of hay, and straw rose rapidly, even doubled in some areas, our regular suppliers struggled to promise a regular delivery. Autumn came and with it long awaited rain, but too late and too cold, although fields became green again there was too little grass growing to make a difference. And now we're back to winter. Already we've had frosts, snow has settled on the Cotswold hills, visible from the kitchen window, with the promise of lots more bad weather to come. But, there is good news, there's always good news, and that's all about the animals.
Reg Charity No 792287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
January DON’T GET YOUR TINSEL IN A TWIST; WE’VE GOT YOUR CHRISTMAS ALL WRAPPED UP!
Following a phone call from a local farmer concerned about the condition of some sheep at a local market, our little team went to pay a visit. We came back with a tired old ram and eight ewes, who should all have been classed as unfit for sale for welfare reasons. Bleeding, infected feet, arthritis, poor condition, the auctioneer proudly announced that two of the youngest and thinnest ewes had been running with the ram? The bidders were myself and a foreign trader, a regular buyer at that market, the animals he bought there or at other markets went either for Halal slaughter, or for export. Bringing them home, putting them into freshly strawed pens, giving them good food, taking away the pain from their ailments is what it's all about, it's why we do it, whatever the cost. We followed it up with complaints and evidence to APHA, whose sole reason for existence seems to be to dutifully ignore all welfare regulations and concentrate on killing badgers and supposedly TB infected cattle, and to Trading Standards, who monitor animal welfare in markets and farms, amongst other things they get paid for. No response, which wasn't surprising, not even disappointing any more, but the good thing is, eight animals who deserved better, have now got it.
February and March
2019 Calendar just £7.99 + p&p
Christmas Cards featuring Snowdrop & Matilda £5 per pack of 6.
More arrivals. The man who we'd successfully managed to prosecute last year, and whose animals we'd managed to buy before they were sent to the slaughterhouse, had hidden two sheep away, an old ram and a ewe. After some persuasion, he agreed to sell them. We collected Harold and Hilda, who both looked very contented to find themselves living in Harold & Hilda an ensuite stable, having been brought there from a cold, bare, barren field. Alfie and Henry, two much loved rescued lambs came to us from County Durham. Their rescuers took them in when they were very sick little lambs and brought them to health, then very reluctantly realised they needed to grow up in a safe place, a forever home, with their own kind. We also found space for a duck, who had been found sitting comfortably in the middle of a busy main road on the Gloucester bypass. She was named Daffy Daffy, what else?
April The start of lambing. We had fingers crossed that these rescued ewes were in too poor a condition to become pregnant, we were very wrong. We seemed to have caught them just in time to give them the nutrition they needed to see them through their pregnancy. We had singles, twins and triplets, easy lambing, difficult lambing, lambs coming headfirst, bottom first, one leg first, ewes with lots of milk, ewes with no milk, ewes
Reg Charity No 792287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
Allen & Paige
who loved their lambs, ewes who wandered off, body language spelling out, "No, not another one". Everyone rose to the challenge, our lambs were all delivered safely, all of them recognised by their different personalities within a few days of being born. Allen the Alien, tiny, spindly legs, a permanent expression of surprise on his small brown face, his shy sister Paige, always hiding away, Scruffy, a little demon who stole milk from all the other mums. Had he been a child he'd have been given an ASBO within hours of birth.
May Next to arrive were two lambs we named Lily and Noah, both had been abandoned in fields and left to die. Lily had been attacked by an animal, most likely a fox, her wounds were infected, she needed two months of intensive care and treatment to bring her to full health. Noah was weak, dehydrated and barely alive, he had to be tube fed to bring his temperature up and to keep him alive. Noah came round, he thrived, he went out to play with the other lambs, a handsome, affectionate little boy. Sadly we lost Noah suddenly a few weeks later to an incurable muscle disease.
TinyNoah
June One ewe, now named Dilly Daydream decided to keep her lamb cooking until mid June. Without any effort on mums part, a large lamb slid out one lunchtime while mum sat there, chewing the cud, enjoying the view. With no help from a disinterested mother, we got him breathing, cleaned him up, and passed him over to mum, who finally grasped the fact that he'd been born. When he finally stood up on his long, rubbery legs we could see that his ears were half as long as his legs. We named him Dumbo. They were followed by two Alpacas, Goliath and much loved, a change of family circumstances Dilly & Dumbo Flicka, meant they needed a new, safe, forever home.
Goliath
July We had a request to take in a sheep who had been living on its own for some time, following the death of the owner. After traipsing around thigh high nettle and weed filled paddocks we managed to tempt this rather rotund sheep into the back of the pickup. The sheep turned out to be quite friendly, she had a kind expression, we named her Mabel. She was urgently in need of shearing. When Lee, our shearer had finished removing at least two years growth of fleece he asked why we'd called her Mabel? We asked him why he wanted to know? His reply, "because she's a boy". Bertie and BaaBaa, two big, well grown, confident lambs arrived with Mum Sam. Sam had found them as very small, neglected, ill lambs, whose chances of survival were very small. Sam gave them round the clock care and lots of love, they both survived and thrived, it was a sad day with lots of tears when Sam had to leave them with us. Sam is a regular visitor to spend time with her now large babies, huge bags of cream crackers and Rich Tea biscuit treats weighing down the back of the car. Bertie, Baabra Our lucky baby Jersey boys were now big enough and & Sam strong enough to be given the freedom of the big wide world, which is our biggest field housing the other cattle. The Jersey Boys Lots of galloping about, head tossing, and play fighting took place before they settled down to graze, or at least, look for grass.
Reg Charity No 792287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
August One lucky ewe, surviving in the Forest of Dean, found her way into a garden looking for shelter. Helen whose garden it was, fed her and befriended her, to be rewarded with the little ewe presenting her one freezing cold morning with two tiny white lambs. A few weeks on, one of the lambs was attacked by a predator, she had a large open wound around the tail area, which caused a prolapse of the bowel. Their grazier owner informed Helen they were all going to be sent to market. Helen sacrificed her savings, which was meant for a new carpet, to buy them. That's the real true meaning of the word compassion, three lives in exchange for a much needed and wanted carpet. Two handsome, friendly, curly coated Mangalitza pigs, Boris and Bertie, made the journey from the Isle of Wight. They had a chequered history, rescued, rehomed, rescued again, somewhere permanent, a forever place, was needed urgently. Luck was with them, we had recently lost the last two of our elderly pigs, they left behind a much needed space. Bob, a very handsome Badger Face Welsh boy arrived with a bit of history. Bob had developed a habit of foraging, eg breaking into places he shouldn't and stealing food. Bobs' problem was that he wasn't too fussy about what he and his companion ate. Poultry food is not good for sheep, after one particular break in Bob was ill and his companion died, it was the owners' fear for his safety that reluctantly a new safe home was sought. Bob Bob now lives two paddocks away from our secure feed room.
September Our Open Day. The weather was good, we had a brilliant turnout, our new vegan Caterers, Purple Cauliflower, were overwhelmed with long queues of returning customers, the stallholders all went away happy, Matilda the turkey was voted star of the day after spending most of the afternoon squatting on the floor being worshipped by strangers. An ambassador for turkeys everywhere, who would want to have one served up on a plate after meeting this gentle, intelligent bird? Most of the animals were on sort of best behaviour, apart from a few thugs who believed that every single biscuit that came out of a packet belonged to them? Ruby Our next big event was the long awaited arrival of Zac. Not a lamb, a calf, a foal, or a piglet, nothing from an egg, well, not the shelled variety, but a small human, a brother to & Zac Ruby, and parents Louise and Dave. Louise began helping at the farm with her twin brother Philip when she was 10 and we've had to put up with her for 21 years ever since. Well used to watching ewes give birth, Louise got on with it in fine style, I understand she took him shopping to Morrison's the day following his birth, looking for bargains, hopefully Zac will grow up with a passion to follow in his mothers footsteps?
An Adoption Makes a Wonderful Gift for Christmas IN RETURN, YOU WILL RECEIVE A SIGNED CERTIFICATE FROM JAN TAYLOR, A BEAUTIFUL PHOTOCARD WITH THE BACKGROUND STORY OF YOUR ANIMAL AND A PICTURE FRIDGE MAGNET OF YOUR NEW FRIEND. WE WILL ALSO SEND YOU DETAILS OF OUR WORK THROUGHOUT THE YEAR AND AS AN ADOPTER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PERSONALLY VISIT T H E SA NC T UA RY A N D M E E T YO U R A N I M A L BY S P E C I A L ARRANGEMENT ONCE A YEAR.
Reg Charity No 792287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
October The arrival of Roxy the goose brought cheer to one of our long standing resident bachelor ganders, Paul. Roxy had had a mate who unfortunately had fallen victim to a fox, she'd also been injured during the attack, leaving her with a limp. Paul was instantly smitten, he'd lost two partners in his lifetime, it was a partnership at first sight for them. October also brought more requests to give homes to animals whose owners could no longer take care of them for different reasons. Delia and Nigella, two bronze lady turkeys who had lived together for five years but had an on-off relationship, a bit like teenage sisters who keep invading each other's space. Paul & Roxy They've settled down, they've progressed to sharing the same bowl of food, still having the odd hissy fit, more noise than action. Eight little game hens arrived following the closure of the sanctuary where they'd been living. Four more ewes and two lambs arrived from Cumbria from a caring owner who could no longer look after them.
November We were looking pretty full, hoping we weren't going to be getting any more requests to rehome animals. Then one recent morning we took a call from our Vets, for once it didn't concern any of our animals. A car salesman at a Skoda dealership in Worcestershire had rung them for advice, arriving at work that morning they'd found a sheep wandering around the new vehicles. She obviously had no money so wasn't looking to buy, they weren't sure where they should be directing her, certainly not back onto the busy main road. Nick and Jen drove up to get her, they brought back a small, grubby, skinny, elderly Welsh ewe who's seen a lot of better days. How she'd navigated a busy main road to find safety in a car showroom is something of a miracle, something, somewhere, was looking after her. Octavia has turned out to be a sweet, contented little ewe, she's loving the comfort of a warm rug, three small feeds a day, plenty of best hay, a clean straw bed, free dental treatment, room service and extra vitamins. To whoever she strayed away from, she's not even worth trying to find, for us it's a privilege to be able to be here and be in a position to help, Octavia not just Octavia, but for all those other animals who are going to need help in the future.
December December 1st we held our annual Christmas Carol service in the barn. Joining in with the singing, or not, were about one hundred sheep, one donkey, two turkeys and lambs, Scruffy and Lily. Scruffy didn't know any of the words but sang baa baa baa to everything which seemed to fit, even when Lily kept headbutting him, presumably to shut him up.
Scruffy & Lily Reg Charity No 792287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
This has been a tough year, the next few months are going to be just as tough, it's becoming harder to source feed such as hay and straw. We've weathered a few storms before, all the small farm animal Sanctuaries I know of are in the same boat, we all do our best. Hay is now costing us around £800 per week. Straw to keep our older sheep like Octavia warm is £200. If you can help in any way, we'll be so grateful. If you find, after Christmas, that you have any unwanted presents, (my mum always bought novelty socks and talcum powder as stocking fillers,) we could find a way of turning them into cash. Unless a miracle happens and we receive an unexpected legacy we'll be running out of funds early in the New Year. Miracles have happened before, we urgently need people to fundraise for us, and many lovely people have done this for us this year in various ways. If we had the funds we would employ a professional Fundraiser, it's a Catch 22 situation, which so many small, hard working sanctuaries have to face when we never have surplus money to keep in reserve.
I almost forgot to mention the Skydive. We did it. Nick, who enjoys extreme sports fell very casually out of his aeroplane, probably chewing gum and whistling, Theresa and I, who find walking quickly and looking down from a bedroom window an extreme sport, loved it best when we landed. I unfortunately felt travel sick during the rocky climb to reach 15,000 feet, hurtling face down at 100 miles an hour for 1 minute made me concentrate on just one thing, my churning stomach, bearing in mind I was strapped to someone I'd only just met. Between us we raised just over £16,000, far more than we ever imagined, sadly we weren't able to use the money to buy the field shelters, as hoped, due to circumstances beyond our control. The money did however go towards keeping the animal fed, warm, and cared for. Theresa and I will do it again in 2020, I'll be doing it to celebrate my eightieth birthday, Theresa will be doing it to make sure I do it, and next time we will get the field shelters.
We have been given a Grant from the Marchig Trust to buy a Field Shelter, for which we and the animals are so grateful. Marchig have awarded us Grants before, and now another group of our animals will be able to enjoy a sheltered winter thanks to them. And finally - we are no longer part of Goodheart Animal Sanctuaries. We wish them all the best with their future projects. Just time now, as once again I've rambled on, to wish everyone a peaceful, pleasant Christmas, my apologies to all those people I haven't managed to write to, please stay with us for the sake of the animals.
Please remember us in your will. Whatever you leave behind will go directly to help the animals in our care. Please contact us if you need help writing us into your Will. Reg Charity No 792287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE