Winter hay for sweet Iris and her friends

Winter time means additional costs for us at the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary. We need extra hay and straw for almost all our animals.

One of these animals is Iris a gentle young heifer who arrived at the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary in November 2010. She had been rescued from an Auckland dairy farm. Nine years later, she is living in a sheltered paddock with a glimpse of sea, in the company of her friends, Sirius, an ex-bobby calf with a white love heart on his forehead, and Struan, who was saved from slaughter as a young calf. Iris was hand-reared, and is very affectionate and friendly. She loves to smooch passing humans, and has bonded with Max the dog - she used to try and lick him all over!

If Iris had stayed on the dairy farm, she would likely be dead by now, processed into petfood or a hamburger. Around twenty percent of all dairy cows are killed annually, usually because they are “too old”, or have failed to become pregnant. Iris would have been treated as a milk producing machine, enduring a constant cycle of pregnancy and separation from her calves. Over 2 million bobby calves are killed every year so humans can drink their mother’s milk. This will never happen to our lovely Iris, who will live out her natural life safely in the company of her friends.

In the colder months the grass stops growing, so the cows, sheep, goats, guinea pigs, bunnies and miniature horses all need extra supplies. Along with hay supplies we also need more straw in the winter months. As each day gets colder we add more and more straw into the animals houses to keep them extra snuggly and warm. We love watching the pigs re arrange their straw into the perfect winter nest. During winter our goats also require straw to stay warm, especially our two arthritic goats Roscoe and Moby. The cold can really make their joints stiff and painful despite medication, so a warm house makes a huge difference.

We need to raise $3000 to buy in extra stocks of hay, straw and feed to keep Iris and her friends healthy, warm and happy.

At the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary, our volunteers work around the clock to help rescued animals like Iris and her friends. But now we need your help - can you keep Iris and her companions happy, healthy and warm over winter by donating a hay bale?