christmas newsletter 2015

Manor Orchard Farm, School Lane, Middle Littleton Evesham, Worcestershire, WR11 8LN

01386 832640 thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk

Patron: Joanna Lumley

Registered Charity:702287

Seasons Greetings to our

friends and supporters,

We’re wishing the year has been kind to everyone? As most of you will know by now, our fortunes changed dramatically earlier this year when the farm was purchased by a private buyer, a dedicated and compassionate champion of all animal life, farm, companion and wild. The eviction threat is over. The Charity is safe. Little wonder we're all going around wearing big smiles, especially the animals. More importantly, when I drop off my twig, life for the animals will definitely still go on. We came down to earth a bit when local lads decided to vandalise two of our vehicles, driving off in one and smashing it to pieces, then coming back later to throw a brick through the window of the other one. The upside was we had security cameras installed. Now, when The Small Dog decides that it's imperative to go out for a wee in the middle of the night, which is pretty much every night, we are shouted at so loudly by the device that it must wake the whole village. Fortunately for The Small Dog she is deaf so it doesn't bother her. The farm is also receiving a long overdue makeover. The ancient rusting feed room roof has been replaced, new electrics have been installed, which means that feeds can be prepared without having rain dripping on your head, lights sparking and fuses blowing. The muddy old yard behind the barn has been resurfaced, the girls no longer have to struggle to push a wheelbarrow through a

foot of mud or fall over a lump of concrete, and the icing on the cake, 3 new stables have been built in the lovely new yard, more of which later, and Louise and Jacqui used their skills and daring to put new felt on the roof of the Aviary. The improvements make life more pleasant for the animals and boosts the morale of everyone who helps look after them.

Animal updates. Sheep. Since the beginning of the year we've taken in 23 sheep, 56 hens, 7 cockerels, 4 pigs and two horses, all we are able to make room for at the moment. Most of those animals were destined for the slaughterhouse as they were either past their prime and were losing value, or were just no longer wanted. Still healthy, able to enjoy life but no longer profitable. Sometimes circumstances change for owners of much loved animals and they are not able to keep them but are desperate to find a safe place where they can receive care for the rest of their lives, we're here for those animals also.



Bubble the lamb arrived in early spring from a local farm after breaking her leg. She made a full recovery after 10 weeks confinement with the leg splinted and bandaged and was turned out into a small paddock. She leapt about and broke it again, back in confinement. She’s been out now for several weeks and so far has managed not to break it again, fingers crossed!

Derpy, brought to us by two American Vet students studying at Edinburgh Vet School was joined recently by Yvonne, another lamb who was also born and rescued as an orphaned baby from a farm in Scotland, so Derpy now has a companion who not only looks just like her but has the same accent. Both girls are big, bouncy and friendly, so happy to be alive.

Three beautiful Lincoln Longwool ewes were ready to be sent to Market, they were past their prime, (6 and 7 years old!) still

fit and healthy and once highly prized by their owners. There was little chance of them finding a caring owner in Market, commercial farmers don't go to Market to buy aged, (e.g. over 5 years) sheep, there was every chance they would have been bought by a Dealer and taken to slaughter. These beautiful trusting girls, like the majority of cull sheep, would probably spend the last few hours of their life in a Halal slaughterhouse, or gone forward for export.

The same thing happened with four black Wensleydale ewes, past their best, no longer commercially viable. As said before, there's very little sentimentality in the farming world.

We bought them all to keep them from taking that awful final journey, all beautiful, trusting, calm and friendly, all having known good care until they became less productive. They all have the most beautiful, much sought after fleeces which we will be selling in the summer at Fibre East Festival, so any



knitters, spinners, weavers out there, please get your order in early. Next sheep to arrive were the Poppets, two much loved pet sheep whose owner had to relocate. It hadn't been possible to find a suitable property to keep them, we were asked if we could possibly offer them a home. Kathy, their owner has cared for them since they were orphaned as lambs. They are brushed, wear little collars with our telephone numbers on and are possibly the most spoilt sheep in the world. They came with their own food hamper, chopped cabbage, apples, carrots and ginger biscuits. Lady Poppet is very much a Mums girl, Mr. Poppet is an amiable lad who will speak to anyone who happens to be carrying a ginger biscuit.

Nine pet sheep were next to arrive. All of them had been saved from going to slaughter. The smallest and oldest of them, a small white ewe was found being dragged upside down by her front legs into a crowded lorry, which was taking them all to the Abattoir. She had probably never known a kind word in her life, a plain little ewe, nothing special to look at. Lynn, her saviour, saw this happening and fought tooth and nail to get her off the lorry. This little ewe, later named Mother, had probably never heard a kind word in the whole of her life and this was how her life was going to end. Lynn fought tooth and nail to get her and the other sheep off the lorry and take them home, no mean feat when you're dealing

with Livestock Hauliers who only see these animals as cargo. Mother is 18 now, the sweetest natured, trusting little ewe, she doesn't bear grudges.

One of the boys, Joe, will put his face right up to you and look into your soul, he's

the guardian

of his little flock, the

peacemaker. Just to spend a few minutes with Joe and the rest of his little group is calming and special.

Pigs.

Colin the curly coated boar, also known as the “sheep pig” survived two journeys to the Slaughterhouse. His paperwork was incorrect and he was sent home. Just before the third attempt to have him killed his fantastic personality won him a fan. He played with a dog, he played with a football, he greeted everyone with smiley grunts. We found space for him, recently vacated by Archie, our elderly boar who had been put peacefully to sleep with age related problems.



Gloria the Gloucester Old Spot sow, a big, chatty, friendly sow was unwanted as she was no longer producing the maximum number of piglets to make her profitable. She'd been a good mother, always easy to handle, but as soon as her productivity began to lessen there was only one place for her, and thousands of other breeding sows like her. They've earned their keep, but not their retirement. Pigs become very stressed when taken from their usual environment, forcing them into a lorry only adds to this, the stress and fear they feel on arrival at a slaughterhouse and the killing pen can only be imagined.

Button and Stitch, two young sows arrived next, saved as piglets. Stitch had been badly injured and required veterinary treatment, not viable in the commercial world, only one direction for her to go until

someone stepped in, bought her, also Button as

her companion,

and paid for treatment.

Thanks to someone who cared enough

two boisterous,

cheeky young

sows were given something that already belonged to them, their lives.

Chickens. We’ve taken in 51 little hens, some were ex battery, some were ex barn, all too old at

between 14 and 16 months to be commercially worth keeping. Again, they'd earned a living for their keepers, but they hadn't earnt a retirement. As soon as production falls it's "off with their heads", literally. They were a pretty sorry looking bunch, lacking feathers, pale combs, orange eyes looking nervously at the sky when they were first let out of the big poultry house into their grassy paddock. It took a matter of days before they joined the others in our small flock and became noisy, clucking, feisty little birds, fighting over their lettuce and grape treats. Three of them were taken up into the yard next to the house because of their poor condition, we could keep a closer eye on them and give them extra vitamins. One of them, the noisiest of the three, made a quick recovery and was soon out in the yard with the other hens. Her favourite place was in the barn with the sheep, she'd spend all day picking up the food they'd dropped - she was in hen heaven. She must have been trodden on in the rush when the sheep came in at teatime, she came hopping out trailing a broken leg behind her. Splinted and confined for weeks, she's made a full recovery and seems to have learnt her



lesson, no more scratching around in the barn at sheep feed time Two of our other hens have both had miraculous escapes. We have a very bold fox who has started to creep up into the paddocks during the day. Beatrice our Alsatian is usually on patrol but either her eyesight is failing or she's been looking the wrong way. On two occasions Mr. or Mrs. Fox managed to grab a hen and start to run. The girls, Jacquie and Steph, were alerted by the noise, hen squawking, and crows all cawing loudly, their bellowing startled the fox so much he dropped the hens and ran. Neither suffered any ill effects, just a few ruffled feathers and loss of dignity. All the hens are now confined to barracks in the hope that the fox will get fed up and move on.

Our Horses. The situation for horses and ponies in this country is the worst it’s ever been, with little hope of it ever improving. Thirty years ago I followed them from markets to Slaughterhouses in France and Belgium. Hundreds of terrified unwanted Mountain and Moorland foals were shipped over every Autumn at weaning time, the value of such a young life could be as little as £1. At one local Market I witnessed small foals offered for sale at four for £1. Unsold foals were just left in the Market.

The situation now is that due to the ever rising costs of looking after them, hundreds of horses and ponies are being abandoned, leaving overstretched Charities to deal with the situation as best as they can, and Bailiffs, employed by Councils, have been given the responsibility to do whatever they could with them to prevent them going back to graze on Council owned land. Several thousand horses are sent for slaughter in this country every year, many of them failed Racehorses, and it’s believed that thousands of horses are still being exported illegally to finish up in foreign Abattoirs where Welfare standards, or lack of them, are a joke. Most of the horses we have in our care were destined for slaughter. No longer needed because of age or ailments requiring Veterinary treatment, the cheapest solution was sending them to slaughter, or Market. No conscience required. In the summer we took in a little chestnut mare named Sparkle to join the rest of our small herd of rescues. Her owner was unable to look after her due to a long term illness, the situation was desperate. We don’t know much of her history, unfortunately since she was brought here we haven’t received the promised paperwork and have been unable to contact the owner, all we know is that she’s about twenty and has bred foals and has had several homes. Like a lot of horses who have had several different owners she has mentally switched off, the only person she will let catch her is Louise. Given the chance horses will form strong bonds with



their owner, they trust them, they rely on them to give them security, but then they can be passed on with no thought for their mental wellbeing. Out with the old, on with the new? This can result in a removal of trust and subsequent bad behaviour, and then, who would want them? Following Sparkle

was Tommy, an ex-racehorse.

Only 11 years old, and not a winner on the track, he was sold as a

potential competition

horse. It soon became

apparent that Tommy had a

number of problems, poor

feet, dental problems and major damage to his spine and shoulder which had gone untreated. Tommy was unrideable and probably will be for the rest of his life, thrown on the scrapheap through no fault of his own, like thousands of others.

Back to the stables. A great supporter of many years, Beryl Romano, who gives her energies into running an organisation called A1 Petline, gave us the funds to purchase the Stables. In our history we’ve never had a new building, we’ve made do and mended. When

the weather turns, we now have somewhere to shelter our older horses. Thank you so much Beryl, from all the horses who will enjoy the comfort of a sheltered, warm, comfortable bed. We’re here for them, sheep, cattle, pigs, horses, chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, cats, the unwanted and unloved, (apart from Kathy’s Poppets and Lynn and Joe’s little flock). It doesn’t sound like much, to save a life or a few hundred lives, once a life has been taken it can’t be given back and what can be more important for an animal than finding a space for them to live out their life? We get our reward from being with them, seeing their character develop, their fear leaving them, trust developing. It has to be said patience can be pushed to the limit when pigs chew through yet another fence rail, when Jacqueline and Josephine the cows decide to visit yet another neighbouring farmer taking half the fence with them, and Tinkerbell, (100 kilos of large sheep) decides to take you of your feet.

People.

We are building up a strong team of dedicated supporters at the Sanctuary. We have Josie, our live in Vet, Leslie our patient and forgiving Accountant, (my paperwork leaves a lot to be desired), our small team of stoical volunteers, Ann, Kirsty, Jane, Sue, Judy, Lynn, Charlie and Stephan and now we have been joined by Ali. Ali is a local businesswoman whose sole aim in life appears to be a dogged round the clock determination to shake me out of my lethargy and my negativity and market our

assets, which I didn’t realise we had? I have very little idea what she’s talking about most of the time, I’m not and never will be an Admin person, I am an animal person. I find people difficult. My hearing is deteriorating by the day, (could be selective?) my eyesight



has gone a bit weird, I have a wonky knee, bit’s

keep dropping of and I don’t just wonder why I’ve gone into a room, I wonder whose room I’m in? Ali has stirred up enthusiasm in everyone to take us forward into a prosperous and bright future and I must stop hiding under the table when I see her coming past the window with yet another Marketing idea that I’m not going to understand. Keep doing the right thing and the right thing will come to you. I just made that up.

Help needed!!

We need all the help we can get to get as much understanding of how these animals think and feel. They will always be seen as a source of food, we need improved legislation to make sure that welfare standards are monitored and upheld, during transport and events leading up to slaughter, we can do no more for them. To do that we need your help, we need to keep on showing that these animals are sentient beings, they do feel fear and pain, they don’t want to give up their life when they are healthy and settled in their surroundings. Commercial sheep and lambs have no idea what is waiting ahead for them, we can’t stop it but we can make it marginally better. We need funds. We need people who will fund raise for us, car boots, coffee mornings, fun runs, anything to bring in awareness and funding. We are asking for unwanted broken

or unwanted gold and silver jewellery, works of art, old Rembrandts etc.

We are in need of Legacies. All major charities rely almost entirely on Legacies. We need people who recognize that farm animals have the same needs as companion animals, a place to live in peace until the end of their days. You’re reading this, we need you, and they need you.

Special Gifts. Are you looking or something different to give this Christmas? Why not take a look at our original gift ideas, where all money raised goes directly back into feeding and housing all our rescues.

Our 2016 calendar is now on sale. Medium A4 size are £9.99 and large A3 are £12.99. They have been kindly put together my Maria Slough, who is a professional photographer and supporter of the sanctuary. Visit

catfish.printedword.infigosoftware.com/mariaslough/p/3285/farm-animals-a4-calendar to purchase. Why not adopt one of our beautiful animals for your loved one this Christmas? For £25 per year you will receive a charismatic photo and life story of your chosen animal, certificate of adoption, and 3 newsletters a year. Visit our website for details and click on “adopt”.

Remember us in your will.

http://catfish.printedword.infigosoftware.com/mariaslough



We also have an Amazon “wishlist”, where you can purchase much needed supplies from bags of barley to brooms and buckets. Go to amazon.co.uk and search for The Farm Animal Sanctuary in wishlists.

Odds & Ends

There have been problems with my Laptop mainly related to my lack of how to use it properly and shouting at it, which never helps. It may have affected the Mailing list as some Data was lost. If your address is incorrectly spelt or doesn’t have a postcode can you let us know? If you are receiving the Newsletter by post and email, let us know.

Apologies for not having acknowledged letters, donations etc. For anyone requiring a reply can you please enclose a SAE? We need to keep costs down as much as possible. Thank you all who have stayed with us, for the supporters and our Trustees who put their faith and personal funding into believing that “all will be well”, with no guarantee that it would be, and to Joanna, for moral support, for constantly assuring me that “all will be well”, for keeping my head above water. And for the person who made this happen, who wishes to remain in the background.

The Small Dog, who has been with me for eighteen and a half years, has also been responsible for keeping me grounded. She is eighteen and a half now and we have been together since she was six weeks old. A tiny, shivering puppy. Offered for sale in a Horse market for the price of a pint of beer. She grew into a tough, no nonsense little dog, who loved being with me in the car, window open, head out, ears flying in the wind. She disappeared down foxholes, drains, ran up tree trunks until she lost her balance and fell into the brook. It taught her to swim. She is the Boss. We have French Mastiffs, a Basset, an Alsatian, they don’t mess with The Small Dog.

Our animal friends keep us going, we owe it to us to do the same for all of them.

Wishing you all a peaceful time.

christmas newsletter 2015

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