Furever Farm animal sanctuary in Rockleigh facing closure because of rising costs

Not-for-profit animal sanctuary Furever Farm is calling for public support to continue rescuing abandoned or ill-treated farm animals.

A popular South Australian animal sanctuary is on the verge of closing, leaving more than 100 farm animals on the verge of homelessness.

Furever Farm is a rescue farm that is home to more than 180 animals, including cows, pigs, sheep, goats, alpacas, donkeys, horses, chickens, geese — with the youngest a three-week-old lamb and oldest are horses and donkeys in their mid-twenties.

The owners have launched a fundraising campaign calling for help to keep the lights on, feed their charges and pay for surgery for four of their farm animals, including one lamb that needs an amputation.

Co-founder and owner Darren Appleby said the drought and lack of rain last year had left the sanctuary in dire straits.

“We’ve just exhausted all our funds, especially on feed, a lot of round bales of hay and fodder and all the rest of it,” he said.

Hayley Appleby with baby lamb, Sweet Pea, at Furever Farm that is calling for donations to stay open. Pic RoyVPhotography

“We suddenly found ourselves down to breaking point … and needed to put out a crowd-funding plea to try and get some money in to try and settle things if you like,” Mr Appleby said.

The Rockleigh-based not-for-profit sanctuary was first opened in 2016 by Mr Appleby and partner Hailey Appleby as a “labour of love” for farm animals that were left behind and “deserved more than what they were getting”.

“No matter what your diet is, I think most people in the world love animals and think that they deserve a chance,” he said.

“And all of the animals that we’ve got were not going to be given a chance whether they were abandoned or whether they were going to be euthanised by farmers, so it’s important to support these sanctuaries so that these animals do get a certain chance.”

Furever Farm has a team of 15 volunteers and relies on donations and fundraising to care for unwanted, abused and orphaned rural animals.

Since launching the online fundraiser, the community support has been “unbelievable”.

“We’ve been really humbled and it’s been really heartfelt,” Mr Appleby said.

“We’ve had messages from all corners of the globe, just you know wishing us well.”

Furever Farm has raised more than $28,000, achieving more than 70 per cent of their $40,000 target.

You can support and donate to their GoFundMe here.