Hillside Animal Sanctuary, based in Frettenham, Norwich, and with a site at West Runton, North Norfolk, is the United Kingdom's largest home for different kinds of farm animals and horses. The vegan-run sanctuary [1] is funded entirely on public donations. [2] The sanctuary was established by Wendy Valentine and its patron is actor Martin Shaw.
Valentine formed the sanctuary in 1995 [3] after she witnessed the farming of battery hens, and has since helped and campaigned for and on behalf of animals. She is quoted as saying Hillside's aim is to:
Help and campaign for animals in need and to bring public awareness to the millions of animals suffering every day in the intensive factory farming industry. [4]
When the Norfolk Shire Horse Centre at West Runton came up for sale in 2007, Hillside Animal Sanctuary stepped in and purchased the site. Shire horses are still homed at West Runton, but also other rescued animals may be visited here too. Between the two sites, 1,200 rescued horses, 300 cows, 600 sheep & goats and 150 pigs are spread out over 1,000 acres. [5] Hillside has also helped re-home animals on the closure of a number of other animal sanctuaries, notably the Quality of Life Animal Sanctuary (QoLAS) in Devon in 2011, [6] Rainbow Ark Sanctuary in 2014, [7] Green Meadows Sanctuary in 2015,[ citation needed ] Blossoms Sanctuary in 2016, [8] and Derwent Valley Donkey Sanctuary in 2019. [9] [10] The sanctuary was further enlarged by the purchase of Church Farm, Haveringland, occupying part of the site of the former RAF Swannington, in 2017.[ citation needed ]
Hillside is now home to over 2000 rescued animals including horses, donkeys, cattle, goats, alpacas, sheep, ducks and chickens. and claims to be "one of the UK's most successful campaigning organisations for the animals' cause." [11] In June 2017, a herd of 59 cows, formerly intended as beef cattle, was rehomed to Hillside after its vegetarian owner concluded he could no longer justify farming animals. [12]
Hillside has an animal cruelty investigation unit that acts directly on tip-offs from members of the public. The unit provides video evidence that often leads to prosecution in cases of animal cruelty. They have carried out many undercover operations to highlight cases of alleged animal abuse within the British farming industry.
Some of the more well known cases include in 2006, involvement in the successful prosecution of two employees of Bernard Matthews Beck Farm in Felthorpe, near Norwich, who both admitted ill treatment of animals after they were secretly filmed by a member of the Hillside unit beating turkeys with metal poles held like baseball bats. [13] [14] The case was brought to court by the RSPCA and the two men were found guilty. The court's sentence was 200 hours community service. [13] [15] Later the same year another investigation by Hillside, at Cherrydene Farm in Bergh Apton, Norfolk (which produces for MFD Foods Ltd.) uncovered animal cruelty. The farm was a member of the animal welfare charity RSPCA-owned 'Freedom Food label'. The 'Freedom Food' stamp of approval informs consumers that any meat carrying its logo is from a farm where animals are kept in the best possible conditions. The footage showed animals kept in squalid conditions and ducks being punched, picked up by the neck and kicked. [16] The farm has since been sold and closed down. [17] In 2012, Hillside investigated Red Lion Horse slaughterhouse, Nantwich, and the footage was used by the Guardian whose reporters were able to trace a number of consignments of horse to Dutch distributors who were then being investigated as part of the 2013 horse meat scandal. [18]
Hillside the animal sanctuary and also Hillside's separate work in uncovering animal cruelty have both featured in television programmes, including Channel 4's It's Me or the Dog , BBC Three's The Baby Borrowers and the BBC Two programme Escape to the Country which had an episode dedicated to Hillside. [19] ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald featured Hillside's investigation footage and the RSPCA defending their Freedom Food Scheme. The BBC's Inside Out was based on Hillside's investigative footage 'Pigs in Purgatory', also on another episode of Channel 4's Dispatches 'What's Really in Your Christmas Dinner?' which won PETA UK's Best Animal-Friendly Television Programme for 2006 saying: "Especially eye-opening was video footage from inside the factory farms where turkeys and pigs are intensively reared." In Channel 4's Dispatches programme 'Supermarket Secrets', journalist Jane Moore looked at the cost consumers and animals are paying for cheap, homogenised, convenient supermarket food. Undercover video footage taken inside a chicken broiler house and an examination of the lives of dairy cows revealed the poor conditions for animals used for meat and milk. [20] In 2011, a Sky News report about duck farming featured undercover Hillside footage. [21] [22]
Valentine is a vegan and the founder of Hillside Animal Sanctuary (1995) [23] and the Redwings Horse Sanctuary in Norfolk (1984). In 2005 she was cautioned by police over a protest she staged in Norwich city centre. She scattered six dead turkeys just days before Christmas to highlight the conditions they were kept in. [24] Valentine is an outspoken animal rights advocate. She said that while Britain has some of the best animal protection laws in the world, they are rarely enforced or upheld. She stated: "The farms are protected, not the animals.” [25]
In 2001, Valentine, along with a colleague were fined for trespassing on to a pig farm in north Norfolk to gather evidence of cruelty and the poor living conditions. They were fined nearly £5,000 after they pleaded guilty to entering an infected place, namely Woodlands Farm, without written permit during a swine fever outbreak. District Judge Patrick Heley described the way in which Valentine and her accomplice gathered their evidence as "improper, illegal, intrusive and irresponsible", he also dismissed their video evidence. [26]
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. PETA reports that PETA entities have more than 9 million members globally.
Animal Aid is a British animal rights organisation, founded in 1977 by Jean Pink. The group campaigns peacefully against the consumption of animals as food and against animal cruelty such as their use for medical research—and promotes a cruelty-free lifestyle. It also investigates and exposes animal abuse.
Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) is a campaigning and lobbying animal welfare organisation. It campaigns against the live export of animals, certain methods of livestock slaughter, and all systems of factory farming. It has received celebrity endorsements and been recognized by BBC Radio 4 for its campaigning. It has grown to a global movement with partners and supporters concerned about the welfare of farm animals.
Animal Outlook, formerly known as Compassion Over Killing (COK), is a nonprofit animal advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.. It is headed since May 2021 by Executive Director Cheryl Leahy, who succeeded Erica Meier. Formed in 1995, as a high school club, their primary campaigns are to advocate against factory farming and promote vegan eating. While the group welcomes those who are interested in animal welfare who eat meat, it encourages a transition to a plant-based diet.
Farm Sanctuary is an American animal protection organization, founded in 1986 as an advocate for farmed animals. It was America's first shelter for farmed animals. It promotes laws and policies that support animal welfare, animal protection, and veganism through rescue, education, and advocacy. Farm Sanctuary houses over 800 cows, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigs, sheep, and goats at a 300+ acre animal sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York and more than 100 animals at its location in Acton, California, near Los Angeles.
Gene Baur, formerly known as Gene Bauston, is an author and activist in the animal rights and food movement. He’s been called the "conscience of the food movement" by Time magazine, and opposes factory farming and advocates for what he believes would be a more just and respectful food system. Baur is president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, a farm animal protection organization. He is vegan and has been involved with animal rights since he co-founded Farm Sanctuary in 1986. Baur has authored two books and various articles.
Animal Liberation Victoria Inc. (ALV) are an independent not-for-profit animal rights organisation incorporated in the state of Victoria, Australia, and are a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNA). ALV were founded in 1978 by Patty Mark, with the mission of saving lives and ending animal exploitation. Their mission is to abolish the property status of animals, change speciesist attitudes and practices, educate the public about animal rights and veganism, and embrace the principles of non-violence and compassion. ALV is managed by an elected committee in accordance with the Victorian Incorporated Associations Act.
Redwings Horse Sanctuary is a registered charity that provides a home for rescued horses, based in Norfolk, England.
Mercy For Animals (MFA) is an international nonprofit animal protection organization founded in 1999 by Milo Runkle. MFA's mission is to "prevent cruelty to farmed animals and promote compassionate food choices and policies."
Assured Food Standards is a United Kingdom company which licenses the Red Tractor quality mark, a farm assurance programme for food products, animal feed and fertiliser. The scheme is subject to frequent media scrutiny because of the systematic and routine animal abuse that happens at Red Tractor assured farms and is permitted under Red Tractor standards.
Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) is an international grassroots network of animal rights activists founded in 2013 in the San Francisco Bay Area. DxE uses disruptive protests and non-violent direct action tactics, such as open rescue of animals from factory farms. Their intent is to build a movement that can eventually shift culture and change social and political institutions. DxE activists work to "put an end to the commodity status of animals."
Animal Liberation is a nonprofit animal rights organisation based in Sydney, founded by Christine Townend and led by current CEO Lynda Stoner. It was formed in 1976, one year after the release of Animal Liberation by Australian philosopher Peter Singer. Animal Liberation's primary campaigns are to advocate against the use of animals for food, clothing, research, sport and entertainment, by promoting a vegan lifestyle.
Animal welfare and rights in Canada is about the laws concerning and treatment of nonhuman animals in Canada. Canada has been considered to have weak animal welfare protections by the organization World Animal Protection. The vast majority of Canadians are for further animal protections, according to a poll conducted on behalf of Mercy for Animals.
This article is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Australia. Australia has moderate animal protections by international standards.
Animal welfare and rights in Spain is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Spain. Spain has moderate animal protections by international standards.
Joseph Dominic Armstrong, known professionally as Joey Carbstrong, is an Australian animal rights activist. A former criminal, he has since become an advocate for animal liberation and veganism through social media and public speaking engagements, as well as debates and various televised interviews.
73 Cows is a 2018 documentary short about Jay and Katja Wilde, farmers in England who gave their herd of beef cows to the Hillside Animal Sanctuary and took up vegan organic farming. It was directed and produced by Alex Lockwood. In 2019, it won the BAFTA Award for Best Short Film at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards.
Hogwood: a modern horror story is a 2020 documentary film focussing on an undercover investigation of a UK pig farm. The film was created by UK charity Viva!, directed by Tony Wardle and presented by Jerome Flynn.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Rescued by IAB 2016-12-31