04/12/2022
** About The Animals And Us **,
We’ve recently been made aware of a couple of different stories with what sounds like some incorrect information regarding things to do with our farm, so we figure it would be best to address them so you guys get all your info straight from the horses mouth as it were. 😊
The Animal Ark does not work in conjunction with, or have any direct affiliations with, ANY pet shops or ‘rescue centres’ in Dunedin.
It is correct that we have occasionally asked questions and offered advice or support to those where we have believed we may have been able to help (which has sadly often been declined) but to date that is as far as any link to any pet shop/‘rescue shop’/retail shop with pets goes.
We know there is some controversy and rumours around one in particular recently - and a couple of people had heard on the grapevine we were perhaps working together so we just wanted to clarify The Animal Ark is not associated with anyone else at all.
While many of our animals come from urgent rescue situations, livestock auctions or special-needs/ health related backgrounds, not all of them do. Some were loved pets who for whatever reason, just couldn’t stay with their owner any longer. Some we have bought in specifically to keep other animals company. A couple are here as part of our support of the “Rare Breeds” program to try and help growth of that breed.
We will NEVER claim an animal here is a “rescue” unless that is exactly what it is.
All the animals in the farmpark have sign-boards you can read up on to find out how they ended up with us at The Ark, what makes them special, and what extra care (if any) they need. Well usually they have sign-boards, - when the goats or the cow haven’t eaten them that is.
We strongly believe all animals deserve the best chance at life with the best people working for them to make that happen. We make no apologies advocating for this wherever we need to, or stepping in if we are ever asked by someone for help - because the animals can not speak for themselves and they are the ones that truely matter - not egos or excuses or good intentions.
There are several registered charitable organisations in Dunedin working tirelessly within animal rescue whom we trust and recommend when people are looking to add new family members that we can’t help with. These are:
Cat Rescue Dunedin
One by One Rescue, NZ
Bird Rescue Dunedin
Dog Rescue Dunedin Charitable Trust
The Animal Ark is not a registered charity, nor do we regularly accept donations. Instead, we ask that you support us by visiting us here at the farm and coming to make some new furry friends.
The admission fee charged stays 100% within the farm and is put towards the cost of vet bills, feed bills, rehabilitation, water charges, travel to collect animals, insurances, permits, fencing, general upkeep and the mortgage costs we have to meet to enable us to have somewhere safe for the animals to live and continue being able to have the public visit us.
As you can imagine, these costs are extraordinarily high - in excess of $2,500 each week, every week, without fail. And sometimes sadly, a lot more.
We cut costs wherever we can - so long as that doesn’t mean sacrificing care for the animals (let’s just say we eat a LOT of toasted sandwiches for tea around here lol) but there is always a shortfall, especially when we are unfortunately completely dependant on the weather being kind (can anyone remind me again when summer is meant to start? 🤣)
To help with the costs of running The Ark, and to cover the many many days/weeks/months we can’t open to the public due to the weather, once a year we have begun selling some of our specially-bred gorgeous wee lambs and goats to pet-only homes (which are vetted by us personally). These wee guys are not part of the farmpark rescues and are never advertised as such.
Occasionally we may also rehome an animal that has come to us for rehabilitation or some extra training and love, or an animal we have bought from an auction to save its life, and will charge an adoption fee for this also if we do so.
This fee is nowhere near the actual cost involved but does help to deter those who perhaps haven’t done their homework on what an animal generally costs (or w**d out those who are looking for a “cheap bit of meat”, as someone so very eloquently requested from us not too long ago 🙄)
Sometimes, due to our financial situation or our grazing/feed/space availability, we very reluctantly have to decline taking in a new animal. We hate doing this, but we are also committed to making sure if we take an animal in, we know it will always get 100% from us. If we do ever say no for any reason, we will try to assist with advice in directing to other rehoming avenues or advertise on behalf if we can. We also occasionally are able to offer temporary shelter to pets to allow people to get back on their feet or move in between properties if that’s what’s needed. (For the record, we never charge for this).
The Animal Ark is a full-time job. Both of us gave up our previous careers to build the farmpark literally from the ground up. All we had at the start was a few empty paddocks and a halfway-decent dream.
Stu and I both have different skills and strengths, and that’s lucky because there is always something needing done, someone needing special feeding, admin to follow up, someone needing meds or rehab, someone stuck somewhere they’re not meant to be, a fence down or trough leaking or something needing fixed for the 400th time (sorry Stu!)
We are here onsite every single day, with the animals. And while it’s tiring, it’s also so very worth it.
We do not have volunteers at The Animal Ark for a few reasons - health and safety of people and animals being number one, but also because we don’t have the ability to vet people or continually watch over them in the farm while they’re helping - and finally because we definitely don’t believe in asking people to work in this much poo for free (as much as we know many of you have very generously offered to!!)
From a welfare point of view we are so incredibly blessed to have the amazing team at Clutha Vets working with us who care about our animals just are much as we do. There is no question too idiotic that I’ve asked, no animal too far gone for them to try save for me, no “amazing new thing I’ve heard of on Google” that they won’t humour me about. They are on call for their clients 24/7 and while I know they must cringe when see my number come up on Caller ID, they always turn up ready to give their all.
A huge special thanks has to go to Bevan, Olivia and Matt, who have suffered my questions more than most 🤣 But hey, you don’t ask questions, you don’t learn right? And we want to learn everything we can. Even when we think we’ve seen most things, every day, we still learn something new around here (although often it’s “how on earth did he manage to get in to / break/ eat/ climb on THAT?!”)
The Animal Ark opened 2 years ago (after years of planning and building) to be a family-run rescue sanctuary and petting zoo, with the number one aim of saving animals and a goal of enabling us to educate people so that hopefully it makes someone think twice about animal welfare in the future.
And while we love that we can share some of our beautiful furry friends with others in our community who also love animals too, it has never been (and sadly will never be) a get-rich-quick scheme lol.
But hey, a girl can dream right? 🤣
For those asking how else to support us - honestly, leaving a review on Google or Facebook, sharing one of our posts, or even just telling your friends about us next time they’re looking for something fun to do would be amazing. We have absolutely no advertising budget at all and rely completely on word-of-mouth for people to know we’re here and doing what we do. And we know there are still so many people out there who don’t know we exist!
We will remain here, open to the public, as long as we can. I hope we’re still here in 10 years, but even if finances dictate it’s only 10 more days, our animals will always, always, always be safe, fed, and cared for.
Of that, there is no absolutely no doubt.
For those of you who have already been to our little slice of paradise - thank you so much, for being part of our journey so far. Thank you for the excitement you bring and the smiles you give, and the many many photos you’ve tagged us in. We’ve seen every one, I promise.
To those we haven’t met yet, we hope that you’ll be able to visit us soon, and we look forward to sharing our special family of furry misfits with you.
Just be prepared - some of them do slobber 😉
With Warmest Regards,
Kelly and Stu ❤️
