I am very lucky to have such an incredible (vegan) family who bought me a day tour of Surge Sanctuary for my birthday. Birthday presents don’t get better than this!
If you don’t already know about Surge Sanctuary it is a vegan animal sanctuary founded by Earthling Ed and friends. It is based in the Nottinghamshire countryside, about 30 minutes away from Nottingham city centre. The sanctuary is set on 18 acres of land and is home to over 100 animals including pigs, cows, chickens, turkeys, goats, and more.
As with all animal sanctuaries, they are always on the lookout for more support so they can keep on looking after the animals in their care and save even more from slaughterhouses and unethical conditions. During the summer months, they offer a guided tour of the sanctuary for £100. Not only does this support the running of Surge Sanctuary but it also allows you to meet some of the animals!
I am going to share my experience of their day tour along with a few photos and videos so you can get a glimpse into the incredible work that is being done by the Surge team. Continue reading to the bottom to discover ways in which you can support them with their work also!
The tour
I have visited a few animal ‘sanctuaries’ across the world with very hands-on approaches to their tours, meaning the animals are lined up ready for you to pet them and take photos with them. I never felt comfortable with this, because just like us, all animals have on-and-off days. Sometimes they don’t want to put up with human interaction, particularly when they’ve had such a tough life at the hands of other humans.
Which is why I loved the style of Surge Sanctuary’s tour. You are led around the site by their volunteers and are introduced to the animals along the way. If the animals want to interact with you, they will. If they aren’t up for it, you leave them alone. What we found is that loads of the animals, particularly the turkeys and goats, wanted to come to say hi. This felt a lot more natural and was completely on their terms, not ours.
The tour included a walk around the whole site and we were given information on how the sanctuary operates and their plans, including a new barn for the rescued cows. Find out how you can support them build this barn here. It took around 2-3 hours and we had plenty of opportunities to stop and meet the animals and ask the volunteers any questions.
The rescued animals
There are well over 100 rescued animals living peacefully at Surge Sanctuary, including sheep, pigs, cows, goats, chickens, and turkeys. Plus, if you are lucky, you’ll also be joined on the tour by a few of the dogs who also live on-site.
As you make your way around Surge Sanctuary you are given all the back stories of each rescue animal. I particularly enjoyed meeting Matilda, the pig who ran away from her farm to give birth to her children. She and her children now all live permanently at Surge and her children have only ever known love and peace.
I also loved being followed around by Hazel the goat who loves back scratches and a few of the turkeys who would squawk in your face until you stroked the back of their heads.
Another highlight was meeting Eric the Sheep who is something of a social media personality – check out his Instagram here. He was quite the character! As we fussed over Eric a bunch of the other sheep came on over for cuddles, bumping their heads into our legs for more scratches. Next to the sheep, the cows were sitting majestically in the field. Unlike many other cows I’ve come across on farms, these cows (and bulls!) were settled and enjoyed a few head scratches.
I found the behaviour of so many of these animals to be very similar to companion animals we choose to live with at home, including cats and dogs. It was amazing how many of them simply wanted a cuddle!
The space
Surge Sanctuary is set on 18 acres of land which means they have plenty of space for their 100 rescued animals. There is a mixture of indoor and outdoor space. But obviously, sanctuaries like Surge are often only just about covering their costs, so they are constantly looking for ways to improve the space that they have.
The cows currently have a barn to use during the winter months but they have planning permission and some funding to start building a new barn that will be a lot bigger. They also have some sheltered areas for the pigs to hang out in and plenty of indoor spaces for all the chickens and turkeys.
If you donate to Surge or visit them on a day tour you are supporting them with the expansion and improvement of their sanctuary. Donate here!
The volunteers
The tour and the running of the sanctuary wouldn’t be possible without the help of their incredible volunteers! I enjoyed getting to know the volunteers who led our tour and I was amazed by the commitment that they put into creating this safe space for all animals.
Not only do they lead these tours, but they also muck out and feed all the animals, keep an eye on any health conditions, and maintain the buildings and land. It must be tough work but you can see they love what they do!
If you live locally then I urge you to get involved and dedicate whatever time you can. Find out about volunteering for Surge Sanctuary here.
How you can support Surge
There are a few different ways in which you can support Surge Sanctuary. By doing so you will be supporting the existing animals that are in their care, plus the potential for them to save even more animals. You can support them on an ongoing basis or make a one-off purchase (great for gifting!)
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