The Open Sanctuary Project is a freely accessible, always growing digital guide for any resources or information you need in order to provide the best possible care to animals in order to start your own sanctuary, or help animals live long, healthy, happy lives free of exploitation.

These Animal Care Guides have been lovingly compiled by Edgar’s Mission based on years of experience.

These notes are designed as guide to caring for and understanding farmed animals.

Please note that in no way do they replace sound veterinary advice. If you have any concerns about animals in your care, please consult a veterinarian experienced in the care of the particular species.

Our days begin well before dawn. Sometimes it began the previous day, if we have spent the night caring for an orphaned infant, elderly ewe or the victim of neglect who has required monitoring throughout the night. Some nights we are called to assist an animal in urgent need.

Whatever has happened overnight, each morning, sanctuary work beckons.

Our small team of dedicated staff meet early to talk through the day’s activities and tasks, taking note of special needs animals and specific duties required around the sanctuary, bearing in mind the ever-present need to be adaptable to what the day may bring.

We have a small hospital centre in our main barn and another in Chicken Cottage for basic veterinary care as needed.

Newly arrived animals undergo health checks and assessment, checking vital signs, temperature and weight; implementing parasite control; and biosecurity as needed.

Rehabilitation programs are tailored for each individual animal depending on their specific needs, be they physical or psychological – sadly many arrive frightened and with a well-earned distrust of humans.

Our barn also houses many of our special-needs residents overnight: those who are elderly, vulnerable, sickly or very young. Whether they are a chicken who is off-colour or a sheep who needs her prosthetics removed overnight, a warm and snug vet cage or straw-filled stall awaits.

Most of our barn flock get to spend their days in the sun, escorted each day to their paddock – a simple enough task with a recovering duck, but more challenging when it’s a feisty pig or a recently castrated ram who needs to be gently directed to the right destination!

Every morning we fit our special needs sheep Charity,  Jewell and Shy with their prosthetics before they head outside. It never fails to make us smile watching these beloved residents march out to their paddock, requesting a wheatbix for their efforts at the end of the journey. Their resilience is truly inspirational!

Every animal is checked daily, and for some this includes twice-daily feeding.

This means loading up vehicles with grain, pellets, greens, vegetables and whatever else is needed to keep them all happy and healthy.

Our rabbits and bird community of 15 houses are cleaned daily. The pigs have their paddocks cleaned and their bedding refreshed. The goats, cows, alpacas and ponies have their paddocks and sleeping quarters checked, and of course we greet and review everyone’s health each day.

Water troughs are checked and refreshed as needed to maintain our exacting standards of hygiene.

While volunteers are often on hand to help, the bulk of our work must be undertaken by our small team of dedicated sanctuary hands.

Apart from direct animal care, there is maintenance of our internal roadways, enclosures, pathways, trees, pastures, shedding, fences and buildings; ensuring a safe workplace for our staff and volunteers; mitigating against possible fire and flood; promoting our merchandise to help support our work; managing open days and tours; and of course staying in touch with our friends and supporters through social media channels and email and ensuring our special message of kindness for animals reaches the widest audience possible.

Whilst the reasons for starting a farmed animal sanctuary are entirely sound, the undertaking of such a mission must be very carefully considered. It must be understood that in order to provide the best level of care for the animals dependent upon your care, the dedication required is all-consuming.

As the person who is responsible for the entire functioning of the sanctuary, it requires that you spend varying amounts of time cleaning, medicating, socialising, feeding and watering the animals, answering emails and telephone calls, collecting animals, conducting the financial affairs of the organisation, co-ordinating volunteers, promoting your organisation, fundraising for the sanctuary, and a myriad of other day-to-day tasks that take up time, as well as catching a few hours sleep.

Not only does this require an enormous physical commitment but an emotional and financial one as well, not to mention an enormous amount of knowledge. The days are long and tiring and days off are few.

None of this is to say that the joy we can bring to these animals’ lives is not worth it, but in order for sanctuaries to provide the best lives they can to their residents, those who operate them must forego most of what most people would call ‘normal lives’.

The practicalities of starting an animal sanctuary are many fold. Firstly, it is essential to own land that is suitable for the animals who will live in your sanctuary.

You must also consult the local council to ensure your planned activity complies with council regulations and bylaws. You will also need to consider neighbours. Will they be receptive? The cost and practicalities of installing/erecting suitable housing and fencing may be different for each species, and must also be taken into consideration.

Your selection of land will be of critical importance. Things you will need to consider are, but by no means limited to; rainfall, carrying capacity, water supply, natural shelter, distance to veterinary assistance, accessibility, bushfire threats, existing use of the land, existing and proposed use of neighbouring land and current infrastructure.

Once you have the necessary infrastructure, you must have the necessary funds to ensure that you are always able to feed, water and medicate as necessary, all of the animals in your care with a back-up of at least two months’ outgoings in case of emergency. Securing funds involves fund-raising, establishing and encouraging monthly and one-off donations and applying for grants, all of which are labour-intensive.

The administration of a sanctuary must also be considered and this will include applying for, and operating under a not-for-profit or charitable status, obtaining tax-deductible status, and buying public liability insurance if you wish to allow people to visit your sanctuary. You must also ensure that financial matters are taken care of, including receipts for donations, fulfilling statutory requirements, payment of bills, purchase of supplies, etc.

Of course, you will also rescue animals to live in your sanctuary and they will come from many situations. You will hear about terrible situations of neglect, cruelty and abandonment, and you may rescue from stockyards and farmers who would otherwise slaughter the animals. The problem is not finding animals in need of rescue; it is hearing of those who desperately need help and being unable to offer it to them. You will receive many calls from people who want you to help them, and you may find, with a heavy heart, you will have to say “No”. You must know how many animals you are able to care for at any one time and not exceed this limit in order not to compromise the welfare of the existing residents. This will be one of your greatest challenges.

Record keeping will form a large part of your work, both for the sanctuary and animals you care for. For each rescued animal you will need to keep extensive records, where they came from, health status, other pertinent information along with any veterinary treatments you provide.

I hope this information is of use to you, but because of differing circumstances please don’t take it to be an exhaustive account of the requirements of establishing and running a farmed animal sanctuary. Each case will, of course, be very individual.

From experience, I can say with certainly that the mission I undertake now is the hardest path I could have taken in life. It requires dedication to the point of exclusion of many other aspects of life, and frustration, sadness, anger, despondency, tiredness and desperation are felt alongside the joy, satisfaction, pleasure and sense of privilege, that are experienced when spending all day, every day, working on behalf of rescued farmed animals.

Establishing a place of safety and compassion is one of the most rewarding undertakings you could consider. It will bring an enormous amount of joy into your life as well as an enormous amount of hard work. However, the most important thing to consider is that once the animals are in your care, they are your responsibility and they will rely on you for everything. You must never let them down. This is an enormous undertaking.

With very best wishes for your venture – the animals need as many compassionate people working on their behalf as possible. Please also consider lending a hand or interning at existing sanctuary first to gain valuable insights. For further resources and information about how to start a sanctuary please visit Open Sanctuary.

The legal requirements of establishing a not for profit group are very strict, and for good reason.  If you are in Australia and would like more information on the legal requirements of establishing a not for profit group please visit http://www.nfplaw.org.au/beforeyoustart

The best way is generally through hands-on experience which can be gained by volunteering at your nearest animal sanctuary. This will help you to understand what’s involved.

If you already have prior experience with farmed animals, even better!

If you want to take it a step further, a tertiary vet nursing qualification is highly regarded and will prove very useful when working alongside rescued farmed animals.

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