When the warm spring breezes and beautiful sunshine abounds, it is easy to forget the long hard winter and how hard that can be for the animals and people both
This can be true as well with the very core of what animal rescue means. So much of what happens in animal rescue and sanctuary is less glamorous and sometimes a lot less visible. There is a lot of hard work here, no matter what season. Here at Unity Farm Sanctuary we focus on providing sanctuary and humane education, by virtue of our size. We are unable to rescue all the animals, even though we would love to do so.
What is hidden from view... are the countless calls every week for animals that need rescue. Roosters, horses, minipigs and more. Multiply that by all the sanctuaries getting similar calls in the US...it can be daunting and overwhelming.
This is why we focus on humane education paired with our programming and outreach. We cannot save all the animals, and we would be pretty frustrated by that if we did not seek to share knowledge with a lot of people, in an effort to improve farmed animal lives. You may have some knowledge of how this works in the rescuing of cats and dogs: if we can reduce the reproduction of cats and dogs, there would be less to save. Similarly, that would apply to horses, and other farmed animals in need of rescue. If breeding was reduced, there would be fewer animals in need during their lives.
Our sanctuary focuses on helping to prevent farm animals from heading to auction or euthanasia, so that the trauma of the auction process and the risk of communicable disease and injury from that process is eliminated. It is less showy and headline-worthy to rescue our way, but we feel it is important. Some sanctuaries chose not to do so, but we accept owner surrenders when we have room.
After the heavy surrender year of 2020, we are already at capacity for feathered friends. Similarly, we are at capacity for sheep, goats and pigs. We have a little room for an equine. And more news to come in the future for our Rescue Rehab Rehome project for one horse at a time (our Ripley Pony is a part of that effort).
Because of your generous help and support, ponies like Sweetie, steers like Pal McTrouble (in the photo above), Dudley the Scottish Highland Bull (below) and all their other friends here are able to live full lives, loved and protected. Thank you!
