Animal Care & Rescue

Our dedicated animal care team cares for our residents, and several vets specialising in our various species oversee their veterinary health. We are proud to have a knowledgeable team with extensive experience. We are constantly learning and developing our skills to better care for our residents and those who will need us in the future.

All animals joining us at the sanctuary undergo a quarantine period for a minimum of 30 days, depending on their initial assessment and veterinary recommendations at the time. This keeps both them and our current residents safe whilst allowing us to ease them gently into their new homes and build their new care plans. Once this period is complete, we will help them to find their place at the sanctuary. This may be with a social group, or in the case of some of our more sensitive residents, they may prefer to live peacefully on their own. It is important to us to find what is right for them in their forever home.

Visiting our Rescued Residents

When you visit us, you may notice some animals that seem to be in poor condition. These are animals that have recently arrived and are currently receiving veterinary treatment. Please keep in mind that we are a sanctuary, not a typical "farm park," so you will see animals that you may not be accustomed to seeing. Our animals are given the freedom to live and grow up, so the baby animals you are used to seeing eventually grow old, just like us! Some of our residents are now very old or have disabilities, lumps, missing horns, old healed injuries from their past lives, and more. Sadly, some of them have had a rough start in life, but your support helps us ensure that they will have happy lives from now on.

Meet Our Residents

Rescue

We rescue, care for, and rehabilitate sick, injured, mistreated, and, in many cases, abandoned and unwanted animals, providing them with a safe and happy forever home with us for life.

Every animal at Brockswood has a unique story. While many have been rescued from very poor conditions, some fortunate individuals have previously enjoyed happy lives with families who, sadly, could not continue caring for their much-loved companion through no fault of their own.

Some examples of the places our residents come from include:

Individual animals found stray or injured.
Animals that have been kept in poor conditions and are seized by local authorities or other animal welfare organisations.
No longer wanted pets, which are often abandoned on our car park.
Animals from other sanctuaries, freeing up space for more rescues.
"Excess zoo stock" in need of a forever home.
Animals placed by vets for rehabilitation or long-term care who are unable to be released.

Veterinary Care

We have several specialised vets who take care of our animals at the sanctuary. Many animals will try to hide signs of sickness because displaying them can make them easier for predators to spot. That's why we conduct regular visual and physical health checks. If a team member thinks an animal is unwell, they will speak to the vet, who will assess the animal and provide any necessary treatments and care advice.

Other veterinary responsibilities include creating an Annual Health Plan for our residents, which includes vaccinations, worming, and other preventative measures. Our vets also provide training and advice to our team so that we can continue to provide high standards of care and carry out routine care independently, such as administering injections, trimming hooves, providing first aid, and other specialized procedures like Worm Egg Counts to monitor for internal parasites rather than risking building up resilience to wormers through unnecessary overuse.

Our vets also conduct bi-annual sanctuary inspections to monitor our residents, provide suggestions, and advise us on any necessary changes.

Did you know? Depending on the animal being treated, our veterinary care costs can quickly exceed £1,000 per month!

Feeding

Animals, like humans, need a well-balanced diet to stay healthy. Each of our animal diets is carefully designed to provide balanced nutrition and opportunities to exhibit natural behaviours such as grazing, browsing, or foraging for food. Some of our residents have specialised diets tailored to their needs due to illness or different life stages. For instance, our older sheep require specific nutrients and softer food due to wearing and losing some of their teeth.

In addition to ensuring the correct diet, we offer various ways of delivering food to the animals, including scatter feeding, hiding food, providing ice lollies, and hanging food.

Our Team

Clean, feed and observe the animals.
Produce daily written reports about the animals for their individual records (every resident at Brockswood has their own record detailing everything about them).
Identify changes in behaviour that may indicate a change in health.
Carry out visual and physical health checks.
Administer treatments and medications and assist our veterinarians.
Devise and provide animal enrichment.
Assist our handyman with habitat design.
All other elements of animal care - there is a lot more to it than you might think!