He was rescued from an illegal slaughterhouse in Wales.
Where he was starved and treated brutally.
To survive.....π
To survive he ate the entrails of others, cannibalised, ate bits of cars...all to stay alive! (he's in the picture below, can you see him?)
The slaughterhouse was raided by authorities, all of the animals removed. But the #53pigs were taken to a Defra Isolation Unit....π
They were instantly condemned, a court order was served on them.
The order was a destruction order. They were a 'public health' risk, unfit for human consumption. They were labled as diseased due to eating other beings, causing a zoonotic disease...TSE, a swine version of BSEπ
But we didn't think that was fair. Their life only of value if they could be consumed! Surely they had been through enough at the hands of humans!
So we hired a solicitor with the help of #vegantwitter. And for 7 months we fought for them, for Gandalf.
We were ordered to...π
Complete a pig keeping course by Defra (amongst many other things!)
By an expert, we did our course, we were advised not take the entire (non castrated males) We were told they would be too dangerous to handle, they would be aggressive and a danger to us.
This is Gandalf nowπ
We decided, if we were going to do it...we would leave no one behind.
We ignored the expert!
We took the 13 uncastrated boars.
Gandalf was one of them.
He is big! Cuddly, fun and loving!
It's just me now. The other people involved in their rescue with me, walked away.π
The reality of looking after & funding the care of 91 pigs was not as glamorous as they had hoped.
So I needed help!
We built a barn!
But now we need security and stability to make sure they have feed.
Nelson is one of our very big & beautiful boars. He's a few metres long & around a metre high.
Most pigs will never make it to Nelson's size. Commercial, large breed pigs are often very poorly bred & often inbred. They are not bred for longevity π
Their lives only designed to be short lived before slaughter or just a few years of breeding & then they are past their best.
It's a cruel & ruthless world to be born into.
And in such a twist of fate the only reason that Nelson is alive today is because he was π
Seized from starvation at an illegal slaughterhouse.
Who knows what life we will land.
Can you imagine being born into a cold, harsh environment in a factory farm, where your life purpose is to be violently slaughtered.
We have nearly 100 pigs here at the sanctuary π
This is 30 of the #53pigs. These pigs are so incredibly lucky! They have made it through the following challenges on their lives -
πStarvation in an illegal slaughterhouse
πAvoiding slaughter in a illegal slaughterhouse
πDefra Disease Destruction Order
πToo aggressive π
π Too aggressive, unsafe to live
π In agreement with Defra, pigs must not be moved again.
π Land & facility we use withdrawn and our notice given.
π A risk Defra would insist on slaughter rather than allowing us to relocate them.
π The only option acceptable to Defra is π
π for them to be relocated to our own land. But we have only a little land & no facilities.
π Urgent large scale fencing, temporary set up & start of ground works & barn build!
π· Defra sign off temporary set up! The pigs come home to the sanctuaries own land! π
π Boars π
I run this sanctuary, I don't go out, I don't go on holiday, I don't have a day off, I don't buy luxury items, I did buy a gift for someones 50th Birthday, from my own money. I also use my own money to support the sanctuary, thousands of pounds over the years. I live in a caravan
I don't even have a proper toilet. Only I have access to sanctuary funds. Our Patron, has his own money that he uses to live his own life. I don't send DMs asking people to donate, I don't tweet disrespectful tweets, I have no control over what other people say or tweet.
I am incredibly grateful to everyone that supports, donates, likes or retweets. Amazing people that offer their support, both to the Sanctuary & to me personally. We do everything we can to save as many animals as possible and to advocate for veganism. We will continue to do so.