Hayley Hubbard established Lotus Lamb & Sheep Sanctuary in 2020 after rescuing ex-battery hens from a farm.

Her home in West Sussex neighbours a farm, and her garden backs out onto the fields where their sheep were raised. Hayley and her youngest son often visited the sheep, forming a bond with these animals. One day, the farmer asked if they could assist in bottle-feeding some new-born lambs, which introduced them to the original flock of 13, including Neville, Emma, and Amy. Hayley's affection for these sheep grew strong, despite knowing their inevitable fate of being sent for slaughter.

Through persistent efforts, Hayley managed to persuade the farmer to let her purchase the male sheep, Neville, and one female, Amy. She relocated her small flock to a nearby rented field.

After facing challenges with the rented field, the farmer offered for Hayley to rent the field at the bottom of her garden instead. Here, Neville successfully impregnated all the female sheep, aligning with the farmer's intended breeding scheme, typical of the meat industry. 

Instead of sending the male sheep to slaughter, the farmer agreed to sell them to Hayley, while keeping the females for breeding. This cycle repeated, with Hayley providing care for both her own sheep and those owned by the farmer. Eventually, she realised she couldn't continue caring for the sheep knowing the fate that awaited them at the slaughterhouse. After two years, the farmer agreed to let Hayley purchase all the sheep, marking the end of a sad cycle and the beginning of the sanctuary.

After successfully rescuing the ‘OGs’, Hayley continued to care for them and began sharing her journey on social media. Her posts caught the attention of a concerned woman who had seen neglected sheep at a nearby farm. These sheep were in an awful shape; terribly underweight and missing lots of wool.

Originally, Hayley planned to keep only two of the ‘OG’ flock and find new homes for the rest through the sanctuary. However, no one else stepped up to adopt them, so they stayed with her. With the arrival of the Shetland herd, Hayley realised her garden wouldn’t be big enough anymore. She had to constantly clean up after them and found herself buying lots of feed and hay as the grass didn't have a chance to grow.

In March 2023, Hayley posted online looking for a new home for her sheep, and by April, a breakthrough came. The daughter of the wonderful owner of Woodmancote Place reached out, and after clarifying that the land would be used as a sanctuary and not for livestock, it was a done deal. With more additions to Hayley’s flock along the way, we are the happy home to pigs, turkeys, ponies, a donkey, and, of course, the sheep.  

Each of our animals has a story of their own, but they can now all spend the rest of their days happy, with plenty of food and cuddles!