Here at Sugarshine we host Volunteer Days once a month. These days are always a joyous occasion, and a great way to meet new friends. We hold these times dear to our hearts.
You might wonder why we don’t do ‘Open Days’, or hold tours around the Sanctuary, or why we require Volunteer Days at all. All animal sanctuaries are different, and they are all at varying levels of development and operation. Whilst Volunteer Days are designed to enact the “many hands make light work” paradigm, the majority of time on these days is spent ‘awing’ and ‘ahhing’ at the residents. The most important job our volunteers have on the day is to give the residents (usually the animals, but sometimes the humans need extra loving too) lots of cuddles and to tell them how loved and special they are.
We have been working hard to make the sanctuary more inviting to people who would not necessarily be familiar with loud pig squeals, screaming sheep, hissing ducks, or goats trying to push them over and eat their lunch. In order to achieve such a welcoming environment, we need to provide the animals with more space so that they’re not overcrowding visitors. It is also important that the space be safer for children, as we would love to be more accessible to them, and share this special place with all age ranges so we can convey our cruelty-free message.
Some of the work we have been doing recently is installing pig-proof fencing around the entire boundary of the sanctuary, (9 acres) so that the pigs will have access to the entire property, not just their current paddock. The fencing has to be specifically heavy-duty, as pigs are incredibly strong and can get their nose into, and through almost anything! There is just one side-fence to do and this task will be complete!
We have also been working hard to make our foxes happier and safer in their enclosure. This has meant building two entirely new structures out of reinforced steel fencing panels. None of us at Sugarshine are experienced builders, and as such we have had to pull down an almost-complete structure many times and start again. We do everything above-board and with the utmost care here at Sugarshine, therefore we have worked very hard in order to keep the foxes happy in their permanent, secure enclosure, and keep inspectors confident that the foxes will never have a chance to harm any of the other animals. This task has been complete for some weeks and the residents are having the time of their lives!
This year we hope to focus on enriching the animals’ lives in both play and nutrition, and will hopefully host our first Open Day. We appreciate the support we receive and the patience you all have, as we endeavour to do all we can to make the residents of Sugarshine the happiest bunch of animals ever. We’ll be sure to bring you along for the ride!
Our first Volunteer Day for the year went off with a bang and we loved meeting all the new friends, our second is happening on Saturday the 25th of February, we hope to see you there!
Sanctuary Life – An Update
