A BOLD bid to raise £600,000 and ensure the future of a much-loved Middle Littleton animal sanctuary has been further highlighted by long-standing supporter Dame Joanna Lumley.
Devoted volunteers at the Farm Animal Sanctuary on School Lane have been boosted in their fund-raising campaign to save the home of more than 600 animals.
The Evesham lifeline has been at the heart of the community for 30 years and helped save the lives of hundreds of previously neglected animals.
However Manor Orchard Farm where it is based is now up for sale and while the charity has the opportunity to buy the farm, it needs to raise £600,000 to secure its future and those of the animals it cares for.
A week long fund-raiser on thebiggive.org.uk website saw some £24,000 raised, a figure which will be matched by the website itself but the charity hopes residents will support their fund-raising efforts.
The Farm Animal Sanctuary provides a safe haven for neglected and abused farm animals where they can live out the rest of their lives in comfort while receiving the special care and attention they need.
It was founded by former journalist Jan Taylor, after witnessing animal cruelty at livestock markets around the UK.
Today the farm has more than 600 happy animal residents, including sheep, cattle, pigs, ponies and horses, cats, dogs, ducks, geese, hens and cockerels, turkeys and alpacas.
“They come to us as broken animals, we give them back their life,” Jan said.
“Our animals need to stay at Manor Orchard Farm for the rest of their lives, we promised them a forever home and we will keep that promise but we need your help to make this possible – we are grateful for any donations of support, the clock is ticking, and we need to secure our future before time runs out.”
Over the 30 years it has been running, the Farm Animal Sanctuary has made lots of improvements to the farm to make life as comfortable as possible for its animals, including creating new paddocks and grassland.
It has also played a pivotal role in campaigning for the rights of animals, investigating and reporting many cases of animal cruelty and neglect, with positive results.
Joanna Lumley, patron of the Farm Animal Sanctuary, said: “It seems to me so terrible we have been persuaded somehow not to mind what happens to farm animals, so when Jan Taylor founded the Sanctuary it struck a chord in my heart and I have tried to support it ever since.
“Every animal has the right to a healthy life and a safe home, and we should all do what we can to protect the wonderful animals we have in this country – without many of them we wouldn’t have such beautiful countryside,” she added.
Visit thefarmanimalsanctuary.co.uk for more.
