HUGLETTS WOOD FARM ANIMAL SANCTUARY

Founded over 25 years ago, Hugletts Wood Farm Animal Sanctuary has consistently provided a safe haven for animals away from the harmful clutches of our meat eating society.

Wenda from Hugletts Wood Farm speaks to Forca Vegan about the history of the sanctuary, day-to-day life on the farm and how COVID-19 has affected their ability to fundraise and care for the residents.

TELL US WHEN HUGLETTS WOOD OPENED, AND A LITTLE OF THE HISTORY.

Hugletts Wood Farm Animal Sanctuary came into existence in early Summer 1995, hot on the heels of almost 5 months, protesting against Live Exports from Shoreham in East Sussex. It was something, that had been my focus, from childhood. Initially, I rented 12 acres, near here, for the nine cows, four sheep and two pigs who had been rescued. They outgrew it within a year, so we moved to land that was almost double in size. We were there for 2 years, until an attack, well, two attacks actually, were made on the cows. Someone slashed Sam (Babaji) and little Reg, (a Jersey calf), with a Stanley Knife and then an attempt was made to chop off Carrie’s head with an axe. Carrie had just given birth and the prognosis was not good, but she recovered around the same time I made the decision that leaving the animals vulnerable at nights, was not actually “Sanctuary.” We needed to find a place where we could live 24/7, as well as have more land for the ever-expanding group of residents. So, my home in Brighton was sold and the proceeds bought Hugletts Wood farm in 1999. We have been here ever since; a shack for a home, but until recently, as our numbers have grown, Hugletts Wood Farm has afforded not only a beautiful environment but enough land for the rescued animals and birds to live.

Nipper J and Derrick, who made the leg braces

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR OWN BACKGROUND.

I think I must be the single MOST boring person alive, but if you insist...

When I was about 3, I discovered what “meat” was, which started a long battle with my Father over not eating flesh. I won, of course! I eventually floated into veganism, much, much later on in life. I spent some of my younger life in the Middle East; the bane of local mosques and neighbours. I was apt to steal their sheep, destined for Dhabihah, (religious slaughter) from outside the local mosque and in front of their houses. Much to my family’s horror, I sequestered them in our garden or the yard, depending on where we lived. The sheep were always reclaimed, but I tried. They took to locking me in the house whenever it was Eid to save the wrath of the locals. Childhood was very tedious.

I loathed and detested school and was thrown out of the Convent where my parents had put me, in desperation. Mother Superior named me “Satan’s Spawn”. Guess I just wasn’t accepting of the Sisters idea of “Holiness”. I ended up in a girl’s madrassa studying Koran at one point.

At 13, I liberated the school lab rats. The janitor dobbed me in and I was almost expelled. Like I cared! I studied Middle Eastern Archaeology, Egyptology & Hieroglyphs at Uni, was a Financial Director for many years, and had a small publishing company in California before setting up the sanctuary. I work in India each year, with Vigilantes, saving cows from the butchers or caring for dying cows in sanctuaries. I see it as giving back some of the good.

Someone slashed Sam (Babaji) and little Reg, (a Jersey calf), with a Stanley Knife and then an attempt was made to chop off Carrie’s head with an axe.

TELL US MORE ABOUT THE RESIDENTS

We offer a home to rescued farm animals. In fact, whoever makes it to our gate is welcomed; our thoughts being that everyone has the right to life. Recently a rhea came – he was to have been Christmas lunch for a Roma family, but he pecked the man who tried to kill him rather badly and ran off. Somehow, we manage to care for any number of

Seth, bought by an activist at market, when he was 18th months. He found a home for life at Hugletts Wood, when no-one else would take him.

mentally and physically challenged animals. They are such a joy! No self-pity, they just get on with living, as far as their damaged minds and bodies allow. We do all we can to facilitate this. There’s an amalgam of four herds of cows, a huge flock of sheep, (which comprises lots of family groups), birds, by the dozen; turkeys, geese, ducks, cockerels and hens. Sigri and Colette the pigs; two girls with attitude. 32 delinquent cats; those with anti-social tendencies who fit in nicely! We never cage them. They just “are” and it is they who choose how closely they want to live to us. There’s also a dog called Nanci; a Spanish Mastina, who was run over as a puppy. As a result, she suffered broken bones and brain damage and is a total nutter. We love her, nonetheless. The sanctuary enjoys a plethora of wildlife, to whom we offer protection from the threat of hunters and ensure as far as possible their habitat, which has been theirs alone, for thousands of years, is not encroached upon as we expand our numbers. No cutting down trees; no clearing areas of woodland, just total respect for the invisible boundaries.

Frieda a Rudi, rescued from the dairy industry, as young calves, enjoy the long grass and Summer sun

WHAT DOES EVERYONE EAT? DINNER TIME MUST BE A RIOT...

The residents eat grass from late spring to autumn and hay throughout the winter, with grains, vegetables and fruits served in individual trugs, twice a day. We buy thousands of large bales of hay each year – same with straw, in order to keep everyone fed and bedded out. 28 tons at a time. I make up over 90 individual trugs of feed twice a day in winter, morning and night, one for each cow or bullock, the contents determined by their age and health. (The calves and lambs are always happy sharing feed – it’s more of a social thing, than a freefor-all) The sheep are so much easier – they share buckets of mixed grains, poured out into a long feeder that they gather around. Feed times in general are structured mayhem! Imagine trying to ensure that the right feed trug reaches the right recipient, in the midst of a barn full of heaving flesh – tons of it! We are well-practiced now and can most times serve everyone without any losses. Even so, after all these years, it feels like the feeding of the five thousand and causes the heart to beat a tad faster. The birds receive corn and pelleted feed along with vegetables and fruits. They wander at will, so will pick up worms and other invertebrates; a practice, which is natural for them and quite out of our hands. Then there is the washing up after each meal. I won’t even go there!

Girl Neville and her little friend, Herman the cat

IT MUST BE AN EMOTIONAL JOURNEY. YOU MUST HAVE A FAVOURITE OR TWO, RIGHT?

I tend not to have favourites. Admittedly I am closer to some residents than others but that’s because they need more from me, both emotionally, and in extra support due to past trauma or failing health. The oldies always seem to grab my heart; spent dairy cows, elderly suckler mothers. They have endured such torment; with such shameful treatment. Yet, broken as they may be, they somehow manage to retain a little dignity. At present we have a young bullock who was born with a deformity of his front legs. We called him Nipper Jackson. He had such determination to thrive despite his problems. I have cared for him since his arrival. Upon discovering corrective surgery was not an option, we raised funds to bring a prosthetist from the USA to make special leg braces for him. Nipper hasn’t looked back since. I feel very close to him. Likewise, a little sheep, name of Nobby Wheatland, underwent drastic surgery some years back. I had raised him from a sickly lamb, so I went to the vets with him and when he didn’t come round so easily after anaesthetic, it was I who laid with him, on the surgery floor, calling his name, until he awoke. I see everyone here as individuals and love them for that.

Whether we are close to them or not, when a resident dies, despite the fact I do hold a spiritual belief about life and death, it is the single most difficult thing to deal with. We can care for someone for 19 years – we watch them mature and age and we watch them leave. It may be, that as in some cases, they are so damaged they come here to die in peace, so we might only have them to care for and love for hours or days. We give them just as much attention in that moment, as others might take from us in a lifetime. I think that’s what Hugletts Wood is all about. Not the grief that follows.

WHAT ABOUT FUNDRAISING – HOW DO YOU MANAGE?

We have always relied on Open Days and Shows we attend to bring in money to run. We also market goods we make at the sanctuary. I supply the Hindu community with items they need for religious practice, grow plants and deal with the Special Person scheme we run, while Matthew makes the most amazing woodland products from coppiced or fallen trees in the ancient woodland. Our belief is that being a sanctuary doesn’t give us the right to hold out our hands for public donations and expect to have our chosen lifestyle paid for, so have always endeavored to bring in as much funding as possible, ourselves. I work to cover our living costs, so they always stay separate to the sanctuary finances. People who like our philosophy do make regular donations and in the main we manage to get by without constantly hitting on people to cover huge shortfalls. However, these days, just like every other sanctuary, we are finding it harder to meet the increased running costs. People love how we do things here but not everyone realizes that the lifelong care we offer, comes at a price.

Even the tiniest of residents are helped to overcome adversity. Spud Murphy is one.

WHAT ABOUT COVID - WHAT IMPACT HAS IT HAD ON YOU?

To be absolutely candid, other than curtailing the shows we normally attend each year and putting an end to our very popular Open Days, which has seriously impacted our revenue, COVID-19, to date, has not changed our day to day lives any. Lockdown has set us a challenge to continue funding here in different ways that won’t be so sorely impacted should it continue indefinitely. It’s very hard, don’t get me wrong, as supporters tighten their belts and everyone pleads poverty. We work incredibly hard here with the two of us doing everything. At the end of the day, it is us, the people in charge of this place, who bear full responsibility for the maintenance & welfare of the residents. In my opinion, it is no good asking for financial support, when one is putting nothing in the kitty oneself. It’s a question of tight budgeting and cutting back to bare essentials before going cap-inhand and pleading for help. COVID-19, in my book, did not present any of us with yet another opportunity to ask for cash, rather it is/was a time to renew our dedication to serving those in our care, whatever happens. The ensuing loss of income has pushed me to start building an on-line shop, with the help of my techno-savvy grand-daughter. It will carry all of our beautiful hand-crafted items, books and photographs and will launch at the end of March 2021, we hope, giving everyone the chance to buy the items they would have done at shows and events.

WE’VE SEEN A HUGE SHIFT TOWARDS VEGANISM AND PLANT BASED DIETS IN THE LAST 50 YEARS – WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS?

People are more health conscious these days. “Live longer, live healthier, have the perfect body” has now become the Vegan / Plant based slogan, whereas in years past it was “For the Animals”. With the internet, access to information about veganism is available to more people, thus enabling them to make choices in their diets, for whatever reason they choose, be it health or moral. Likewise, information about the environment; cruelty issues in the production of animal products, testing and all and every abuse of animals, is mainstream these days. You don’t have to go hunting for it.

Frank'N'Furter always viits the sheep in winter - he likes Newt best

Let’s face it – neo veganism is trendy, however you look at it. No longer just the way of life for people with a conscience. With the increase in people following a vegan/plant-based diet, or wishing to, it’s become a marketable concept bought into by Corporates who push its expansion as a part of their marketing strategy. Remember having to go to the Health Food Shop to buy a carton of watery,grey soya milk and wishing you could hack black tea instead?? In the last ten years, Veganism, and what it now represents, has become BIG business; you can buy vegan food everywhere; shops, supermarkets and restaurants, now provide an easily accessible means for anyone to find vegan food. The advent of vegan influencers, travelling all over the world, some in style, to preach the word to the uninitiated, has opened many eyes (and wallets) recently. From the founding Vegans, of earlier years, recognizable by their open toed sandals and multi-coloured tank tops, and their alleged left-wing tendencies, to those amazing, honourable folk, who spoke out about Animal Rights, unafraid to spread the word, to liberate, to end the suffering. All this whilst freaking out your parents as you sit quietly absorbing every word they spoke. They were the ones who appeared in black ballies, who reached out through their actions to open eyes and make people consider a vegan life. All have played their part in this journey, that’s got us where we are today.

We should all project the vegan lifestyle as one of great health, simplicity and ease, which it is, when unencumbered by excess.

Everyone needs downtime with the animals - Dr Michael Klaper with Adge Page

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO SEE HAPPEN IN THE NEXT 50 YEARS?

Obviously a vegan, climate-conscious world of non-breeders is top of my list. Seriously, a change in people’s attitude to animals and the environment would be a start; to understand we are a part of Nature, not separate to it. A society willing to take full responsibility for its actions, collectively and individually, well knowing that this planet, our only home, cannot sustain human life in such numbers. People will have come to realize that just because we are vegan, doesn’t mean we don’t have to curtail our excesses. Our progeny, vegan or not, all have a Footprint, just as everyone in this world does. A world, where there is no killing and slaughter houses are looked at in the same way we regard ear and bull baiting of times gone by. I dream. I know but there will be greater changes as people realise their destiny, if they continue to live as they are.

WHAT ANNOYS YOU MOST ABOUT THE CURRENT VEGAN MOVEMENT?

It does annoy me to see the systemic change from being a movement of co-operatives and collectives to being hijacked by Corporates with an individualist message of consumerism, which is bought into by the Movement. There is an avid consumption of fake meats with a productive Footprint, as great as animal meats. What one eats doesn’t require thought any more. Gone is the need to sit down and think out your actions – it’s all there for you on a consumerist plate. Seems like if its vegan, that’s all that matters.

The need to create Idols within the movement disturbs me greatly and the manner in which, these folk are funded, makes my teeth chatter. I would rather money was poured into the coffers of low profile activist groups, like Hunt Sabs and ALF etc. It would bring about so much change.

This really is a tricky question for me to answer honestly, because I can’t separate veganism from Animal Rights. To me, they go hand-in-hand; they are inseparable; so when I see the pages and pages of people glorifying the individual and discussing recipes for hours on end, it grates. Don’t get me wrong, the support and help available to people considering making that change is awesome, but what about the animals? Seems like the only look-in they get is in selfies with whoever can get close enough to them.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE OF IN THE MOVEMENT?

I would love the Vegan Movement to progress to less reliance on processed foods. A transition to eating healthily, rather than overloading on other stuff, like overly sweet cakes and pastries. Everything in moderation!! We should all project the vegan lifestyle as one of great health, simplicity and ease, which it is, when un-encumbered by excess. I would like to see people start to take more responsibility not only to eat vegan but to adopt a vegan approach to avoiding products which are animal tested; to look closely at the pharmaceutical industry and start questioning more.

Open Days give visitors the chance to be at one with the the residents, if the animals are comfortable with that. Moon Willy enjoys a hug!

AND HOW CAN READERS HELP WITH THE SANCTUARY?

I do believe it’s important that people acquaint themselves with our philosophy, as we are quite different to other sanctuaries. Hugletts Wood is all about the animals rather than the people involved. If it appeals, then it might just be a sanctuary worth supporting. This is a place where support isn’t just of a financial nature. That simply alienates the folk who may not have funds to share. We are grateful to people who have artistic skills, and who are willing to make items we can sell. Even though we don’t accept Volunteers and don’t offer placements to paid staff, Tradespeople who are electricians/plumbers/builders etc., and able to donate some time in return for travel expenses, are much in need.

If anyone is interested in supporting the sanctuary financially, they might consider setting up a regular Standing Order or even becoming a “Special Person” to one of the animals. All they need do is arrange with us to present themselves to be chosen by one of the residents.

For more information:

www.huglettswoodfarmanimalsanctuary.org

wenda@huglettswoodfarm.org

Friends for life. Everyone at Hugletts Wood gets to choose who their friends are. Left to right: Freya (out of shot), Sigri and Twiglet smiling for the camera