FARM ANIMAL SANCTUARY
Christmas Edition
The Farm Animal Sanctuary
Manor Orchard Farm School Lane Middle Littleton Evesham Worcestershire WR11 8LN 01386 834500 info@thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Registered Charity No.702287
COMPASSIONATE CARING FOR 25 YEARS
Dear Supporters All the best of Season’s greetings from us, also of course from the animals, all five hundred plus of them that you're helping us to rescue and care for. Since last Christmas, we've taken in over 120 sheep, 3 pigs, two horses, 1 bullock, 2 drakes, 6 ducks, 8 cats, 1 small dog and 6 calves, plus an assortment of hens and cockerels. They've now found their forever home with us. Being able to take in animals brings us a great source of achievement. It's hard work. Round the clock care is needed, there's always the worry that some of them might not survive, but what makes it all worthwhile is to go out in the morning, not to find that we've lost anyone but that eyes are brighter, they look at you not with fear and despair in their eyes, but hope. One little ewe who survived against all the odds we've since named Hope. We found her lying with a small group of miserable looking ewes and lambs in a small, weed strewn paddock. She lay in a pool of filth, covered with blowflies and maggots, her filthy fleece hanging off her. She didn't have the strength or the will to lift her head when Josie the Vet examined her, the decision was made to put her out of her misery after the rest of the animals had
been examined. When we went back to her, she did lift her head, she looked directly into the Vets face and we knew then that she had to be given a chance. We obtained permission to remove the worst of the animals, helped by an RSPCA Officer, and brought them home to deep straw beds, clean water, peace and quiet. Hope not only survived, she thrived, her wounds healed, she put on weight and gained in confidence. The rest of her small flock also survived, they will be scarred for life where maggots had eaten into their flesh, but they'll never have to go through that suffering again. This Christmas won't only be a special time for us, it's the start of a new life for all of them. We're hoping that the intended new Legislation will result in a maximum penalty for the individual who owned these animals and he'll be banned for life from keeping sheep. We'll keep you posted.
Hope when she arrived at FAS
Hope with friends now
FARM ANIMAL SANCTUARY
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2 Dora was an unwanted breeding ewe, believed to be past her best, destined to take the final journey to the
The Good News I wanted to start, for a change, with some good news! We often hear the horror stories of the plight of these forgotten about creatures, but in the last few weeks, there have been, what we hope will be some positive advances. The government has finally decided to launch a consultation on mandatory CCTV in all slaughterhouses in England. A major breakthrough came in August, after almost a decade of campaigns by various groups including AnimalAid. Environment secretary Michael Gove unveiled the plans as part of a wider animal welfare strategy, to include farm animals and pets. But will they go far enough? We hope so, but will have to wait and see. It has also been hinted at that there may be an end to live exports out of Ramsgate, following our exit from the EU. This unnecessary practice, has continued for decades, forcing animals into long journeys, often with no proper food or water provisions, in the searing heat, or freezing cold. With advances in refrigerated transport, why do we still do this? Again, we will have to hope, and wait and see.
Pete the Pig
Although these developments are undoubtedly a huge step forward, we urge people to remember that even when the law is followed to the letter, slaughter is a brutal and pitiless business that can never be cruelty-free. We call on everyone who wants to prevent animal suffering to embrace the growing trend towards compassionate living. One last piece of good news, is that the farmer from whom we rescued Jacqueline and Josephine, has at long last been banned from keeping livestock. We have put in several complaints to the authorities over the years, collected photos, and our vet has done witness statements. We hope our efforts made some difference. Ironically, he was prosecuted for paperwork, not for the two foot of mud, poor quality food, and lack of clean water, but the end result is the same, the animals are now safe, and do not have to endure those horrific conditions any longer.
Rescued Animals It's been mostly sheep who have increased our numbers this year, some we brought in after finding them kept in appalling conditions, some had been found abandoned, some were orphaned
slaughterhouse until someone took pity on her. That, sadly, is the fate of all breeding ewes, fit and healthy but thought to be "past their best". The slaughterhouse is always the answer for these ewes, they've done what they were wanted for, to give birth for profit, not for pleasure. There’s no time for sentiment in the commercial world.
Pigs lambs, some had been kept as pets. A change of circumstances found the owners desperate to find a safe place for their much-loved animals. Two elderly ewes, one unwanted, one rescued in poor condition, surprised and delighted us by producing two healthy lambs. Flora, the rescued ewe was an old breeding ewe, as far as we know she had never been given the care or respect she deserved, and like all other breeding ewes had her much-loved lambs taken from her throughout her life when they were a few months old. We named her lamb Dora. Flora and Dora will stay together for life, as will the other ewe Doris and her lamb Donald.
Flora and Dora
At least once or twice every week we are asked to take in pigs. The majority of these unwanted animals have been bought as "micro pigs" and kept in unsuitable gardens as pets. Pigs can be lovely animals, but even the smallest piglet weighing a couple of kilos at birth can finish up as a 200 kilo plus walking plough. Pigs are herd animals, they love to roam, they turn over the soil in their search for worms, snails, slugs, they chew wood, they can bite through bone, not, you would think, the ideal plaything for a small child. This year we've taken in Pete, who was found by our local police sunbathing on the grass next to a busy lane. We're
FARM ANIMAL SANCTUARY
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always the first port of call when the police find a stray animal, over the years we've been asked to take in dogs, cats, sheep, horses, deer, ferrets, but young Pete was the first pig. He's a lovely chap, very friendly and very playful, unlike the two sows who came after him. Brambly and Apple had been privately owned, the owner lost his land, it was an urgent request, us or the butcher.
The Jersey Boys
They're very laid back old sows, all they want is a warm dry bed, a lie down in the sun, a wallow, good food and back to bed. Like a lot of people, I know, except perhaps for the wallow. Taking in a pig from this background can mean that it can be impossible to integrate them with other pigs. If they've never been socialised they can fight, it's virtually impossible to separate them as there's nothing to get hold of. Trying to hold an aggressive pig would be like trying to hang on to a large lump of solid lard while wearing gauntlets. Many years ago we had a very friendly sow we called Lucy. She became lame and Alan the Vet was called in. He diagnosed arthritis and prepared to inject her with painkillers. All went well, Lucy let Alan fuss her and give her Apple treats and then she felt the needle going into her neck. With an almighty squeal she shot off around the stable at a rate of knots, straw and dust flying everywhere. She showed no sign of slowing down so at the third lap I shouted at him to jump on board, he could inject her when she slowed down going round the corners. He did jump on, unfortunately he was facing the wrong way. Trying to get a needle into a flying pigs bottom was like trying to inject a moving lorry tyre. Alan eventually fell off and peace was quickly restored. Lucy never did get injected, she had powders instead. We have been lucky with all the pigs we've been able to take in over the years, but that doesn't mean they should be sold
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as backyard pets. If you've ever been tempted, please don't. In July we took in six male jersey calves, all three to four days old. As an unwanted, non-profitable by product of the Dairy Industry they were due to be shot. The Jersey breed are small and don't grow well into "meat". Jersey calves look like small deer, like something from a Disney film. To rear them to veal maturity can only be done at a loss, substitute milk powder and calf rearing food is expensive, the cheapest way to cut losses for a farmer is to have them shot when they are a few days old and their bodies taken to Hunt Kennels. Our boys are growing by the day, they all now have sponsors and names, so we have Duke, Eli, Jack, Sebastian, Harvey and Charlie. They're here for life which could be for the next twenty plus years. Thousands of healthy, lively, dairy bull calves are shot each year, leaving their mothers distraught at their loss. And all because we take her milk.
Buster
to go for slaughter. Buster, who was then five years old was the only one to be spared, he'd been the favorite. For all his size and muscle, he's an amiable chap who's settled in well with the rest of our herd. Other animals we've taken in this year include Tilly the elderly mare, companion now for our elderly boy Fred, one naughty drake, (he bites ankles) another drake and his four ducks, 24 hens, eight cats, one of whom is Cleo, who arrived as an unwanted incontinent kitten. John and Janet, two of our trustees run their own private cat rescue, trapping, taking in and neutering feral cats that the larger cat rescue charities don't deal with. They heard that Cleo was going to be put down because of her incontinence which is why she finished up here. She's no longer incontinent, she's grown into the Tarzan of the feline world. She climbs to the top of the tallest Leylandi tree, she climbs through half open windows to get into visitor’s cars, she was found fast asleep in a digger bucket when we had the builders here, she takes a swipe at any dog daft enough to walk too close to her and she's the queen of the feed room. Her preferred bed is either an empty feed bag or a box of vegetables. Lottie the dog came from a Cyprus rescue, she had been a street dog. She's a plain little dog, very nervous, unable to look anyone in the eye when she first arrived and spent most of her time squashed beneath the kitchen cupboards whenever she heard a strange voice. Jessie, our first Cyprus rescue dog is slowly bringing her out of her shell, the two of them rocket around the house causing chaos and have a wonderful time slowly eating their way through the sofa. At least it keeps them quiet for a while. It's been a year of mixed fortunes; storm Doris took away our newly erected field shelter. It landed upside down on top of a newly built fence in smaller pieces than intended. Fortunately, there were no animals around at the time, a smashed field shelter was a bit of a catastrophe, but it didn't become a tragedy.
Buster the bullock arrived in September. A gentle giant, Buster had been part of a herd belonging to an elderly farmer. Following a short illness, the farmer, who was semi-retired, made a request for all his cattle to go to a sanctuary. After his death it was found that he had so many debts it was ordered that all his cattle had
Next came Bird Flu, all poultry had to be kept shut inside for several weeks, very stressful for birds who are used to free ranging, and disastrous for some freerange egg producers. That was followed by an eye infection in the sheep, time consuming and expensive to treat, in the middle of this Josephine and Jacqueline the cows decided to take their calves walkabout, finding the one weak spot in the fence.
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The last time they went walkabout was to visit the Highland Bull who lived in the next village. As the crow flies it would only have taken them about ten minutes to get to him, smash his fence and invite him out.
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Bidding will take place between 25th November and 10th December.
Adopt an Animal ….. show you care !
Original works of art have been kindly donated by local and nationally known artists. If you don't use Facebook and wish to see the work on offer look on our website or contact the sanctuary by post or phone, 01386 834500 and we can forward a list to you.
We've 9 needy animals that we have given a home for life to here- by 'virtually' adopting them you will help us care for them and feed them.
This is a one-off opportunity to own an original work of art most of which feature farm animals in a wide variety of styles. This will give us more funds to meet the extra costs of feeding the animals throughout the winter. Please bid what you can. Highest bid on 10th December wins !!
Which is why they both returned home pregnant, carrying Louie and Louise. Perhaps when they broke out in the Spring they were taking the children to meet their father?
CHRISTMAS CAROL CONCERT IN THE NEW BARN Join staff and animals on Saturday 2nd December from 5pm Carols from Evesham Community Choir, nativity scene by children, stalls and refreshments! Mulled wine, festive food and gifts
Our new barn
We 'll send you a great new gift pack with a fridge magnet, photo card and certificate signed by Jan. As an adopter, you can come and visit them at the sanctuary and we'll keep you updated on their progress. If this is a gift just let us know and we can add a message for you.
Photo credit Maria Slough
Have a look on our website and order nd by December 18th for normal 2 class delivery or you can download an electronic pack (without magnet) or those last-minute presents!! Call 01386 834500 or email adopt@thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk Just £25 for one year's adoption.
Admission: Adults - £2.00 Under 12’s - £0.50 Under 5’s - Free Free Parking close to venue.
On the plus side we've been able to replace most of our very ancient, falling down fencing, we've replaced old gates, and, something we dreamt about but thought it would never happen, we've replaced the ancient, leaky, draughty old pole barn with a brand new, spacious, airy Barn.
Art Auction The Big Picture Art Auction to raise money for the sanctuary can be seen online on our Facebook page.
Some of you will have noticed from our new snazzy bright logo that we are now a member of the Goodheart Animal Sanctuary family, a new charity that we have done a lot with. I am pleased to confirm that this will bring about some changes in the constitution of the charity and we will now be working with a sister sanctuary in the region. We will be sharing some marketing resources but will still chiefly be, operationally, the same as always with the same fundraising targets to achieve and every penny donated will go towards the animals we watch over at Manor Orchard Farm. -----------------------------------------------------
Makes a great Christmas present for family and friends __________________ Thanks to everyone for staying with us and supporting us, I'll repeat what I've been saying for years, farm animals are the worst treated animals in the world. We can only give sanctuary to a tiny number, it's costly keeping animals to end of life, and to do this we rely totally on donations and help to raise funds. If you have any unwanted or broken gold and silver jewelry we'd be grateful to receive it, any items of value that can be sold on eBay, please let us know, and most importantly, please consider the future of our animals by including the Sanctuary in your Will.
FARM ANIMAL SANCTUARY
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Wishing everyone a peaceful and caring Christmas.
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