The great work of animal sanctuaries

A lot of you will know that I run an animal rights group and one of the things we like (and need) to do together are wellbeing events.

We see some awful things in the course of our work so we try our best to look after ourselves and each other. 

This year, two of our wellbeing events centred around animal sanctuaries.

The first one is called Pigs in the Wood (PITW) in Huddersfield and the second is called Millington’s Magical Barn (in Dewsbury).

PITW doesn’t just have pigs – they have goats, chickens and a cat too. But they started off taking pigs in from people who thought having a miniature pig as a pet is a good idea.

There is no such thing as a miniature pig – which is what these people soon found out.

And pigs very quickly grow to formidable sizes.  They have also rescued some from slaughter or where farmers have agreed to surrender them.

When we go we meet the pigs, hear their individual stories and interact with them and it really is an amazing experience.

We sit in amongst them with a drink and some cake and they come up to you and will have away with your food if you aren’t careful!

Millington’s has 100 animals in their care, with cattle, sheep, alpacas, geese, ducks, hens and cockerels, turkeys, guinea pigs, pigs and a cat (there always seems to be a random cat!).

The sanctuary is set in acres of land in the Yorkshire countryside and for us it is as close to heaven on earth as we will get.  Jake, who is the founder of Millington’s, is a no-nonsense Yorkshire lad with a massive heart. 

He takes animals from all sorts of backgrounds and experiences – from those destined for slaughter, abandoned animals (one of his earliest residents fell off a slaughter truck) and surrendered animals. 

He takes them with no judgement as to how they came to be with him and he then looks after them until the end of their natural life. 

When we go there with people who haven’t been before, they are amazed at some of the facts Jake tells them about each species. 

He has erected ‘stable notices’ with scientific and fun facts about each animal species and those he says gets most people talking are the natural lifespan versus the common lifespan.

For example, did you know that a pig can live to between 15 – 22 years but their common lifespan is 5 – 6 months. Similarly, cows can live to between 20 – 25 years but their common lifespan for dairy is 4 – 6 years and for beef it’s only 2 years. 

It is amazing to see Jake interact with all of these animals and how much they trust him, given their experience of humans before him. 

And it is always a privilege to go to both of these sanctuaries to see these fantastic people doing everything they can to help animals. 

And the best thing about these sanctuaries is that they are also plant-based which means that refreshments they serve do not have animal products in them – after all it would be a bit hypocritical to invite people to look at rescued animals then offer them for sale in the café, wouldn’t it?

All of those who visited got a lot out of the trip and as soon as we got back the question was ‘when are we going again?’  The answer is ‘very soon’!