Founded by Hayley Hubbard in 2022, Lotus Lamb and Sheep Sanctuary is a safe haven for some of the most exploited animals - farm animals. 

The idea for a sanctuary began in 2020, when Hayley completed her first successful rescue of ex-battery hens and gave them a home in her garden - a garden which backed onto a sheep field of a local farm.

Over time, Hayley and her children frequently visited the sheep in the field behind their garden, and formed a strong bond with the flock, particularly after the farmer asked them to help bottle feed the lambs. This introduced Hayley to the OG flock, including Amy and Emma (both available for ‘sponsor-sheep’). However, Hayley knew that these sweet-natured animals were intended only for the slaughterhouse and so, after much fighting, convinced the farmer to sell Amy and a male sheep, Neville, to her.

After trouble finding a rental field, the farmer offered to accommodate the sheep back in his field, where Neville impregnated the female sheep. This is typical of the meat industry, and Hayley ended up caring for her and the farmer’s sheep together. Eventually, Hayley decided she could no longer look after the flock, knowing they were destined for the slaughterhouse, and the farmer agreed to sell the flock to Hayley, marking the beginning of the sanctuary.

Originally, Hayley had planned to keep only two of the original flock and rehome the rest, but no adoptees came forward. Instead, she began to document her journey on social media, where a local woman got in contact, concerned for some very malnourished sheep. With the rescue of these sheep, and the arrival of the Shetland herd, Hayley quickly realised her garden was no longer fit to accommodate so many animals. 

The sanctuary is now home to over 200 animals, including pigs, turkeys, chickens, horses, and, of course, the sheep.