Pigs

Big Ears is home to 11 pigs, all rescued from various situations.

In 2007 we were contacted through a friend about a 6month old male pig that was about to be slaughtered. The pig had been the runt of his litter having been born at an intensive pig farm. He failed to gain weight quickly enough so was left to watch all his siblings taken away from him - never to return. He was mistreated and neglected until rescued and journeyed to the sanctuary on the back of a ute.

We named him Rhubarb and when he arrived he was scared of people and would hide under the chook shed. It didn't take long until he grew to trust us and now he is always the first pig to greet us and offer his belly for a rub. He has the most amazing array of grunts and snorts signalling to the other pigs and humans alike. He has the most human eyes of any animal at the sanctuary.

His eye teeth had been cut and his tail docked all without anaeshetic when he was only weeks old as is done to all piglets at intensive piggeries. Because the pigs are kept so confined their stress and boredom lead them to chomp on each others tails. This does not happen when pigs free range.

In Australia 95% of pork comes from intensive piggeries where sows live in metal barred stalls allowing them room enough to stand and lie down. They develop pressure sores on their bodies from lying on rough concrete surfaces and are regularly injected with anti-biotics as the conditions in which they live are unhygenic and the pigs are prone to infections that develop into large abscesses.

Later that year we also took in Clarence, a four and a half year old pig. He had been purchased as a miniature but had been over fed and was the fattest pig we (and our vet) had ever seen. He had been a pet and was being killed with kindness and was fed foods not normally found in a pig's diet.

It took 12 months but we finally managed to slim Clarence down to a reasonable size. Because of his diet and weight issues he has had problems with his legs. Some weeks Clarence would be injected every night and he came to be very wary of anything that looked like a syringe. He is the sweetest pig and for his size is the most gentle of creatures and is able to communicate effectively with us so we can meet all his needs - like an extra blanket when it's cold at night.

 Miggles is a young male pig that had been living in suburbia.  Miggles came to Big Ears because the land he had lived on was subdivided and there was no longer any room for him.  He is a beautiful friendly boy and a welcome addition.

This is Frankie found as a baby on the side of a road. He will grow to be a large pig that would have been slaughtered for his meat. Pigs are very intelligent animals, some studies have shown they are smarter than dogs and 3 year old humans.

Rats make lively and wonderful companions and are best kept in a group.  Unfortunately rats are disparaged in our community because people are afraid of them or view them as unclean. 

Rats are used by the medical community as ‘lab rats”.  Basically they will live and die having tests performed upon them, often without any pain relief.  Many of these tests are unnecessary and outdated as it has been found that rat responses to medical trials are often very different to human reactions.

Humphrey the kitten came to live at the sanctuary after he had been dumped at 3 - 4 days of age. Our vet euthanased several of his siblings but couldn't bring herself to euthanase Humphrey.  He had to be bottle fed every 4 hours and could fit in the palm of a hand.  He has since grown into a healthy young cat full of mischief.

               Major Tom enjoying the sunshine

The ferals are actually called Mummy, Ziggy Stardust and Major Tom. In a previous life they lived in a warehouse where they kept the rodent population down. They aren't very friendly as they had little human contact. When the wharehouse re-located the cats couldn't stay. One of the warehouse workers organised for the cats to come to Big Ears as she was quite attached to them and did not wish to see them euthanased simply because they are unfriendly. She had been feeding them every day and visiting them regularly. 

This kind person organised for the company to provide some building materials and we constructed a secure cat 'condo' for them to live in at Big Ears.  They moved into their new home and have slowly adjusted to their new lifestyle.  Major Tom and Ziggy Stardust are not friendly, but Mummy cat will pop down for a pat at food time.  They spend their days sleeping in the sun and snuggling together.  Of an evening they are active playing with their toys and chasing each other around.

We urge people never to dump cats/kittens in the wild as they do so much damage to native animals and birds. We encourage pet de-sexing and micro-chipping and advise cat owners to keep their cats in of a night.

Pudding joined the sanctuary after she was caught in a  humane trap underneath one of our large pine trees. Jacqui had noticed she was hanging around.  After a few nights she gave in to the temptation of a yummy meal.  It was evident from the outset that she was feral, she went completely beserk when Jacqui approached the cage.

After allowing her to settle Jacqui brought her inside in a large cage with all the creature comforts so she could get used to us.  Within a couple of days she was purring and now we enjoy pats and cuddles.  She is still a little unsure but we are confident that this will be overcome.

Feral cat populations are the direct result of people dumping their animals, not having them de-sexed or allowing them to wander off as outdoor cats.

Feral cats are one of the most maligned animals due to the intense destruction they wreak on native animals and birds.  Yet this wouldn't be the case if humans had taken responsibility in the first place.

Pudding will now live her days at the sanctuary as a pet.  She is one of the lucky ones as the life of a feral cat is very hard and that is without being trapped, shot and poisoned. 

Suzy was dumped on a north west beach as a kitten.  A concerned person has been feeding her and biding her time until Suzy could be captured and transferred to the sanctuary to live out her days.  Once again this is an example of people not taking responsibility for their animals and dumping them and ignoring the costs to the animal and the environment.  Luckily a responsible person took it upon herself to befriend and capture Suzy and find her a safe place to live.

Felix the cat is another feral kitty that Jacqui trapped at the same place that Pudding was found.  She is very timid and tiny and had obviously not been doing to well as a feral cat.  Felix will now be a resident of Big Ears and hopefully she will one day become friendly but if not she will live out her days in a specially built cat enclosure to keep her and the environment safe from her predation.

Bovines

Big Ears is home to 5 cows ranging in ages from 7 years to 18 years.  All 5 are rescues from different circumstances.

Milton is a big beautiful Poll-Hereford steer.  His owner had adopted him when as a calf he had broken his leg. She had it plastered until mended and raised him to be very gentle and sweet. Due to his size she realised she couldn't keep him forever so advertised in the paper for a home where he would live out his life without fear of slaughter. The sanctuary offers that home. Milton is a big hit for visitors as he is so gentle he will allow people to sit on his back when chewing his cud.

Nelly is an Angus/Fresian cow.  She was looking for a new home through AACT (Against Animal Cruelty Tasmania).  She is an absolute delight, Milton’s best friend and she is very playful and loving. Humans could learn a lot about friendship from these two creatures.

Roxy (fresian) and Katie (jersey) came to live with us after we were checking animals on a nearby property for the owners as they were in the middle of moving. The owners had tried to find new homes for the cows but during their absence Katie got herself into a fenced in area that had no grass or water. Although able to get herself in - she couldn't get herself out.  When we found her she was emaciated, and hoarse from mooing for help. She would only have lived a day or two more at the most. Roxy had tried to help her but there was little she could do. Katie’s manure was the size of sheep poo. 

We contacted the owners and started a feeding and re-hydration regime that Katie immediately embraced. And we embraced her. We fell in love with these 2 cows whose friendship is so strong and loving and the owners agreed they could move to the sanctuary. Katie hasn’t looked back. She is still an escape artist and gets into other paddocks at the sanctuary and we often find her up at the garage looking for a snack. 

The cattle meat industry is one of the most harmful to the environment, people and to the animal.   These beautiful, thoughtful and inquisitive creatures are sent to their deaths scared and terrorised.  Any doubt you may have about the cruelty of slaughterhouses will be dispelled once you have read “Slaughterhouse”.  Before the brutal death, cows are ever increasingly being raised on feedlots, fed a diet that is unnatural to them and fed antibiotics to help them deal with the stress of mass confinement and living on dirt and mud.  Nelly our beautiful cow, was transported on a cattle truck that stopped over at a feedlot.  When she arrived at the sanctuary she was very unwell as she had contracted a respiratory illness from being at the feedlot in the back of the cattle truck.

Gorgeous big Milton would not be alive today if he had travelled through the usual process for steers and cows.  Milton is 10 years old, he would not have been kept alive beyond 18 months to 2 years for his purpose as meat.  To think that this marvellous, fun loving creature who enjoys a plastic rake scratched up and down his back, would have died a cruel death well before his prime, is a tragedy. 

Roxy and Katie are bred for the dairy industry.  They would be milked and kept in calf with their newborns taken away at a day or two of age.  It has been shown that cows have grieved for their young for up to 6 months.  In relation to being milked, cows are over milked and made to produce more than they have previously. 

Blossom the ex-dairy cow is 18 years old and spent most of her life in the dairy industry.  This means that she would continually be impregnated to have a calf that would then be taken away from her after a couple of days so she could be milked.  Blossom also has a broken tail which sometimes happens in the dairy industry when workers use the cows tail as a way to make them do what they want.  In some dairies cows tails are docked so that the workers can avoid being 'hot' in the face with a tail.

Birds

 The sanctuary is home to four sulpher crested cockatoo's.  Magic came to live at the sanctuary after he was no longer wanted due to his behaviours.  Birds like cockatoos tend to bond with one person and they can become quite possessive of their person.  This may lead to some behaviours such as biting directed at any other who may take the attention away from them.  They can also exhibit destructive behaviour when they are bored.

The keeping of birds such as sulphur crested cockatoos and other native birds is unfair and a commitment that most people cannot meet.  Cockatoos can live for a very long time, some have been known to regularly reach 50 years and others have been known to get much older than this.  Can you imagine living that amount of time in a cage with no space to spread your wings or engage in natural behaviours?  Cockatoos are clever and inquisitive birds and need to be kept entertained with things to chew and climb.  If you have a bird such as this it is important to make provisions for it after your passing, as it is highly likely the bird will out live you. 

Jacqui found Gorky walking along the road late last year.  He did not have many feathers and appeared to still be a youngster.  Upon a trip to the vet we learned through a blood test that Gorky suffers from “Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease”.  This virus is largely a death sentence and in its acute form the bird can die very quickly, in the chronic form, which Gorky has, he will slowly lose all his feathers and perhaps part of his beak.  It is also likely that a bird with disease will die of other illnesses or infections due to a compromised immune system.  Basically Gorky may have 12 months or less with us.  He lives inside and is kept warm.  He is quickly losing more feathers as can be seen below.

Despite this, Gorky loves life.  He loves cuddles and kisses and his neck scratched.  Due to other birds that call the sanctuary home, Gorky is kept separate to the others and a strict hygiene regime is adhered to.  This disease can be spread through the birds feathers and faeces and can remain an active virus in nest hollows/boxes etc for a long period of time.  In captivity it is important to make sure that good hygiene is practiced for all birds with clean cages and nesting boxes important for general bird health.  There are many sites on the internet that can provide further information.

Donkeys

Big Ears is home to 7 donkeys.

Kelly came to the sanctuary through a local rescue organisation.  She is approximately 30 plus years (the dentist thinks late 30s given the state of her teeth). She is a white grey colour and is very affectionate. She seeks out pats and cuddles more so than the other donkeys and is definitely on top of the donkey hierarchy.  Kelly has been mistreated at some point possibly with the use of a twitch, she is very reluctant to have her head touched and does not like her ears being touched.

Pedro was also facilitated through a local rescue. He is a large donkey and is very affectionate. His elderly owner was unable to continue to care for him due to her failing health and she had also inherited him when she purchased the property.  Pedro has been mistreated especially in relation to having his feet trimmed.   

This is unfortunately very common for donkeys and horses because they live for such a long time. A donkey can live for up to forty years. We encourage owners of these animals to think ahead and make provisions for when they are no longer able to care for them.

Goats

Big Ears is home to 11 goats

The first 3 goats to arrive were give aways in the newspaper.  They are Mummy goat, Mimi and Bessie.  Mummy is literally the mother of the other two.  Mummy and Mimi look very similar and are very close.  Bessie is a bit of a black goat of the family as she is black, grey and white.  Mummy is very strong, confident and in charge.  She likes to use her horns to her best advantage.  Bessie likes a cuddle but she prefers to lead the others into all sorts of adventures, she is the most inquisitive. Mimi passed away.

Buffy was a rescue facilitated through the RSPCA.  She had been used as a “lawn mower” on a suburban building block and had been tied up (tethered) for 2 years of her life.  She had sores on her neck from where the collar had worked itself into her skin and neighbourhood kids used her for target practice.  Buffy had a tough time at first as she hadn’t seen goats before and they weren’t overly accepting of her.  However she stuck with it and is now a member of the herd.  She is not keen on people at all but will come to Jacqui for a pat when she feels it is safe enough to do so.

Bert and Ernie joined the sanctuary in 2007.  They are 2 beautiful cashmere goats that had been rescued by two very caring people when they found them dumped in a box by the roadside. These caring people hand raised them until two years of age but unfortunatley they needed to move interstate due to work so Bert and Ernie came to Big Ears.

Sandy arrived at the Sanctuary after he continually escaped from his previous placement. 

Opie also came to the Sanctuary because she would escape her suburban block with her sheep friend Wilbur and end up in traffic.

Romeo and Juliet pretty much turned up one day and never left. 

Billy-Bob is about 10 years of age and came from a large suburban block where he and his mother had been sold as part of the chattels of the property.  Billy-Bob spent his life tied up because he was an escape artist and liked to wander around.  Billy-Bob is now free to roam with his goat friends.

 Sheep

The sanctuary is home to 8 sheep.  In 2010 Martha and Hemmingway were bottled reared on the property after being rescued from situations where their mothers were not looking after them. 

Wilbur the sheep is a self shearing sheep and he came to the sanctuary because he kept escaping from the suburban block he lived on and he would end up in traffic.

Blackie the sheep is 11 years old and came to live at the Sanctuary after his human could no longer keep him.

Minty, Vincent and Merino are 3 sheep that came to the Sanctuary in order to avoid a life of continual breeding.

Harry the sheep was rescued from a situation of complete neglect. 

Sheep are considered a commodity in Australia for their wool, meat and overseas sales.  This includes Live Export.

On an individual level it is interesting that people comment at Spring time on the cuteness of lambs, and the Lamb Industry produces advertisements about how Australian it is to have lamb on all the special occasions like Australia Day and Mothers Day.  Wouldn't it be more fitting for Mother's Day to let the lamb be with it's mother rather than have it go through the anguish of removal, fear at the truck loading and then brutal death at the slaughterhouse?

Big Ears is home to 8 ponies.

 Wildfire joined the Big Ears family with his pony friend Molly in 2009.  His previous owners separated and decided that the ponies needed a special caring home for the rest of their lives. 

As with the intake of chickens in February 2010 which was also after a relationship split, it is important to remember that animals are also in need at this time of instability.