T H E
F A R M
A N I M A L
S A N C T U A R Y
COVID-19 UPDATE: IN LINE WITH THE LATEST GOVERNMENT GUIDLEINES WE ARE POSTPONING ALL FUNCTIONS AND VISITS FOR THE FORSEEABLE FUTURE.
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Dear Friends and Supporters
PLEASE CONTINUE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE WEBSITE FOR FURTHER DETAILS. 2021 CALENDARS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW! SEE PAGE 6 FOR DETAILS.
GRANDAD HAS SOME MUCH NEEDED DENTISTRY: READ MORE ON PAGE 5.
Registered Charity:702287
Well, we didn't expect COVID to have disappeared completely by now, however, I think we all believed, or at least hoped that it would be a bit more under control? Now, to add to all our joy, Scientists have found that some animals have tested positive for COVID? Domestic cats seem to be at the top of the list, less in dogs, but also in hamsters and ferrets? It does make you wonder how a ferret would succumb to COVID and what would make anyone think of testing them in the first place? I know they have a habit
of running up the inside of trouser legs, but? Is that where COVID is hiding, inside trouser legs?
none of us had realised that it was only weeks away. Always too busy looking after other things.
Thank goodness they haven't found it yet in sheep, pigs, Alpacas, cattle or horses, Gordon and many other of our animals look forwards to their close encounter of the sloppy kind.
The sheep and the donkey were also looking forward to the Sheepover, they'd never been inside tents before, never had the opportunity to scavenge through someone's' belongings, or enjoy the luxury of peeing on a sleeping bag. The sock that Zero ran off with was never found, a good time was had by all and won't be repeated, not until next year anyway.
What we've really missed is welcoming visitors, being able to host our second Sheepover, and not having the last minute panic about organising our Open Day because
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Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
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“What we are always aware of is that by turning an animal away could mean the end of its life, so when it's an emergency situation we do stretch our resources.�
Our Door is Always Open What hasn't changed for us are the number of animals in urgent need of another home. Sadly, It's not always possible to help every animal we're asked to take in, our space is limited, and to be overcrowded compromises the welfare of the animals we already have. What we are always
aware of is that by turning an animal away could mean the end of its life, so when it's an emergency situation we do stretch our resources. Too late if we said no and an animal loses its life. Once gone, it can't be brought back. This year, again, we have lost a number of our older sheep which is to be expected, the
decision to let them go is always based on their quality of life, they're all individuals. When the decision has been made with our Vet, they go quietly in their beds, with people who have known them and cared for them, it's all very peaceful. It's a sad time, but then they've left a special space behind and someone waiting to fill it.
Lilo and Midas from her when she would have p re f e r r e d to keep them with her.
The lambs had their own unique personalities, they answered to their names, they played, they were happy, they were clever.
Registered Charity:702287
Two lambs, who had luck on their shoulders, were bred on a commercial farm. The ram lamb was destined for slaughter when a few months old, as they all are, and the ewe lamb a lifetime of breeding and having lambs taken
Lilo and Midas were taken in and cared for by a family who wanted to give their children the responsibility of caring for animals, feeding them, and learning all about them. After weaning, the lambs were due to go back to the farm. What the family
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hadn't realised was how these little animals would affect them emotionally. The lambs had their own unique personalities, they answered to their names, they played, they were happy, they were clever. The thought of them disappearing back into the commercial world and becoming "just two m o re a n o ny mo u s sheep" was too much to bear, and we just happened to have a "two lamb sized space". They've both been very welcome and now have a life which won't be cut short by consumer demand. Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
SUMMER
Ewe or Kangaroo?
After they'd been settled, I was sent a video of a very thin ewe who was struggling to walk. It was painful to watch, she was obviously in a lot of distress and trying hard to keep up with her two lambs. We have in the past had animals brought to us from this farm, they were two lambs unable to walk and a ewe who had been left with a broken leg which had become badly infected and later had to be amputated. They were all urgently in need of help, how that farmer managed to keep going without being prosecuted is one of life's mysteries? We agreed to take the ewe and her lambs, and then were told there happened to be "one or two more sheep there who needed to be removed for welfare reasons? Eight sheep eventually arrived. There was the crippled ewe with her two lambs, a thin ewe with her two lambs, a very nervous older ewe who, on examination was found to have gangrenous mastitis,
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and a scruffy, lively boy, who we were told had been a pet? They were inspected by our Vet Jade. We were all thinking that the crippled ewe had either been injured during shearing or lambing, which had caused damage to her spine. Jade watched her move and she had a "eureka" moment. Back in her student days she'd read briefly about something called Kangaroo Syndrome, she'd never ever seen it, but here it was right in front of her. If she was right the remedy was to separate her from her lambs and keep her off the grass. Within a week we could see an improvement, Roo, as she was named, was walking instead of hopping, slowly and a bit wobbly to begin with, but now every day sees an improvement. She's back with her lambs, named Jack and Jill, (what else?) Jackeroo and Jilleroo, (Australian names for people who work on sheep farms).
Jane, Penny & Bobby Next was an older, frightened ewe, not terribly skinny but not in best condition. She was found to have had untreated gangrenous mastitis which had spread into the tissue of her belly, she must have been in a lot of discomfort for a long time. There were no lambs with her, so we can only presume that they'd died and she hadn't been dried off properly. She's had all the dead tissue removed, she's been washed and cleansed and given antibiotics, and all is well. She's beginning to put on a lot of weight, she's becoming more confident and friendly by the day. Her name is Diana, in memory of someone who loved all animals. I'm not quite sure why a ewe and her two lambs arrived with them, they weren't in best condition but we've seen worse, but after they'd all been unloaded and made comfortable I was informed the owner wanted ÂŁ160 for them?
We don't usually buy animals unless it's an emergency situation, but we weren't going to send them back. I had some birthday money so welcome Jane, Penny and Bobby, named after two good friends and my first dog. The scruffy boy, who obviously hadn't been sheared since he was born has now had his dreadlocks removed expertly by Steph, who has many untapped talents, and at last looks as though somebody owns him.
We don't usually buy animals unless
it's an emergency situation, but we weren't going to send them back.
Latest Arrivals Lastly, (for now) we were asked if we could find room for four sheep, much loved, all rescued from that final Registered Charity:702287
journey to the slaughterhouse. Circumstances had c h a n ge d r at h e r suddenly for their owner; whose first
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concern was to find her sheep a safe home for life. Ziggy, Peewee, Peggy and Lucy, you're welcome, you've filled the last gap. For now? Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
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Updates
“Autumn brought instead constant heavy rain. Everywhere was covered with water, the brook broke its banks and flooded paddocks, this continued until late spring this year.”
Apart from the total disruption of COVID, that has affected all of us, we've also been affected by the weather. Again. Having struggled through the drought two summers ago, and hoping we'd never see another one, autumn brought instead constant heavy rain. Everywhere was covered with water, the brook broke its banks and flooded paddocks, this continued until late spring this year. The rain did eventually stop, too late for many farmers to plant their crops, which meant there was going to be a
shortage of straw, then the sun came out with a vengeance. The brook dried up, the sheep very quickly took advantage of this, creeping along the dry bed to emerge in our neighbour’s field. His sheep did the same, at that time our grass was
It’s a Dog’s Life It wasn't all gloom and doom, not quite. The dogs were happy to lie on the cool tiles in the kitchen and sleep all day, except for Zero. Being very small she took to finding small gaps and sneaking into the small estate adjacent to the farm, looking for children to play with. It went wrong one day when I received a call from the local Dogs Trust to say she'd been handed in. She must have been picked up by a visitor who hadn't recognised her as the village stray. For the fifteen minutes she spent there she was in her element, she's a little dog who loves everybody in the whole world and here were lots of new friends to play with!!
Registered Charity:702287
slightly greener so the invaders were made to quickly go home, our sheep, realising t heir mist ak e brought themselves back and a fence was quickly put in place to stop the straying. Within a short time, we were no longer picking our way through the mud, we were walking through brown, crunchy grass instead. Another drought, over 500 animals needed feeding with precious hay that was needed to see us through this winter. At least the weather was good for shearing, the bad news was that the fleeces couldn't be taken to the warehouse because of lockdown, another loss of income.
It was almost too hot for Bailey the bi polar Basset to challenge Holly the turkey to a scuffle, Holly was standing no nonsense from a dog whose legs were shorter than hers, so it was usually a battle between who could make the most noise. Poor Tilly, the other Basset definitely drew the short straw. She was meandering her way along the side of the barn at the same time that the truck was reversing towards her. Tilly was sure the truck would give her right of way, and the driver would have done if they'd been able to see her. She became slightly squashed between the gate and the truck causing her to howl and the truck to come to a sudden halt. Initially it looked bad, she couldn't stand, she wouldn't eat, the Vet thought possibly the worst, that she'd damaged her spine beyond repair. An X-ray revealed three fractures in her pelvis, for three weeks she lived on medication, invalid food, being carried about on a doggie sedan, acupuncture treatment, until one day she decided she'd had enough. She lifted herself from her orthopaedic bed, walked outside to enjoy a long pee on the grass. She's coming on walks with the other dogs now, she's a very determined old Basset, likes doing things in her own time.
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Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
SUMMER
NEWSLETTER
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“Like a Pig with a Sore Tooth� Our next patient was old Grandad Pig. He stopped eating, it's usually not good news when a pig stops eating. He developed a swelling on his cheek, indicating a possible tooth abscess. Pigs teeth are very large, deeply embedded in their powerful jaws, giving them the strength to easily bite through bone, eg a Vets arm. Vet Paula drew the short straw to come and sort Grandad out. Weighing in at at least 200 kg he wasn't easy to sedate, he didn't like Vets much, Paula had to work quickly to get the job done before he began to wake up.
Always Wear a Helmet We did have another casualty. This time not an animal but Louise. She was innocently riding her bike accompanied by her niece Amy. They were going downhill towards home when she looked around to make sure Amy was still with her. It took a nanosecond of non concentration for her to be catapulted from the saddle and meet the Tarmac at about 30mph with her face, and her helmet, fortunately. At first things didn't appear too serious, jaw broken, three teeth lying stranded on the Tarmac, a bit of a bleed on the brain, a
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She wrestled her hands between his jaws to clamp the pliers onto the offending tooth. With one mighty effort she began to draw the tooth out then she heard a crack. Most of the offending molar was in the pliers, the rest of it was still deeply embedded in his jaw. Grandads eyes began to flicker, a distant rumbling was heard which wasn't the sound of a passing tractor, time to beat a hasty retreat. Antibiotics have cleared the abscess, the swelling has gone down and Grandad is eating again, we're all keeping our fingers crossed that things stay that way? Vets definitely won't be queuing up to have another go?
helmet which was thrown away before she could see it, and when she'd regained consciousness her telling everyone she'd be back at work in a few days. Several weeks later, Louise is now back at work, with reduced hours. I have the greatest respect for our NHS, but have wondered if her first assessment was done by one of the lovely porters, due to everyone else being on a COVID ward? Two fractures were initially suspected, on further inspection four were found, also a broken nose, wrist and broken bones in her hand. The jaw was screwed, unscrewed, screwed back again, (the carpenter this time, not the porter), and a few operations later all seems to have been put back together in the right place. The moral of this story? Don't ever, ever go out on your bike without a helmet, and don't ever look back to see where your niece has got to when you're going downhill at possibly 30mp.
Grounded
Finally, it was my eightieth birthday in July. I had planned to do another Skydive to boost our much needed funds, COVID put paid to that. I had planned to do something else to raise funds, which was to don overalls, a flying helmet, goggles and a pair of homemade wings and dangle from the forks of the tractor while it was driven around the yards. Health and Safety put paid to that, so, I'm 79 again, next year I will do the Skydive for my next eightieth and will hopefully raise a lot of money to help keep us going. Please put this in your diary, next year, 2021, somewhere around July, I will be strapped to a stranger, pushed out of an aeroplane at 15,000 feet, free fall for 60 seconds. and hopefully land right side up. Registered Charity:702287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE
Britain's First Farm Animal Sanctuary
School Lane Middle Littleton Evesham WR11 8LN
Our Amazon wish list
Would you like to know exactly what you’re getting when you donate to us? Why not have a look at our Amazon Wish List! It is continually updated with items that we need for the day to day running of the
01386 834500
Sanctuary, simply pay for the item you would like to donate to us and it
info@thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
will be delivered straight to the Sanctuary. We thank you for your continued support, every donation is very much appreciated!
STOP PRESS!! Christmas is closer than we think! This year we will be producing our full colour, A4 calendar with 12 stunning photographs of our rescued animal and their stories. The cost this year will be £9. 50 which includes postage and packaging. Please order
early so that we can get enough printed. Also our Christmas cards will be for sale, featuring Snowdrop our miracle lamb and Matilda the lucky Christmas Turkey, available in packs of 8 or 16. If you would like to sponsor
a space on the Calendar for one of your animals, with their story included, the cost will be £10 per animal, please send photos and details ASAP. Thank you, it will all go towards the cost of producing them.
As expected, our donations are down, so many people have lost their jobs and their businesses, no one knows what the future holds. We've promised our animals a safe home for life, and we won't let them down, we don't know how but all of us have faith that we will get through this. Farm animals are at the bottom of the pile when it comes to people feeling compassion for them, we're up against so many other animal charities who can reach out for funds in a much wider way that we can. Please, for their sakes, remember these animals, they are also sentient beings. Thanks, all of you. Registered Charity:702287
www.thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Patron: Joanna Lumley OBE