Greyton Farm Sanctuary is a registered non-profit and public benefit organisation that rescues and rehabilitates abused, neglected, orphaned or injured farm animals, and provides a permanent home for them where they can happily live out the rest of their days.
The farm was informally started when Nicola Vernon purchased a few fields and built straw bale houses with her friend and co-director, Rohan Milson. At first, they started rescuing distressed lambs from nearby farms. Then a dairy cow, and then a pig! By 2017, the sanctuary was official.
*Note: This article contains information and imagery about animal cruelty and neglect. Not for sensitive readers.
The farm is situated just outside the village of Greyton on 40 hectares of land. Now a sanctuary, it teaches humane animal treatment in schools, promotes plant-based eating through its Pure Cafe in the heart of the village, and assists backyard farmers to transition from farming animals to growing vegetables.
The farm also runs a volunteer programme. It’s highly physical work, from getting up early to feed the animals, carrying buckets to the paddocks and bowls of special feed to the special needs animals. There are usually young animals such as lambs or piglets to be fed every three hours throughout the day (and for very young animals, throughout the night). Then, it’s the second main feed of the day that takes place at 3pm.
Volunteers get involved in lots of fulfilling work, particularly that of helping disabled or compromised animals, enriching their lives with treats, massages and lots of love.
In total there’s about five to six hours work a day, leaving plenty of time to visit the village, swim in a mountain lake nearby or hike in the hills. Volunteers are not asked to contribute monetarily but they are required to cover their own food costs. They are responsible for their own breakfast and lunch and take it in turns to cook team dinners.
Volunteers are also encouraged to download the Abillion app. This app donates 1 US dollars to the sanctuary for every review of vegan food or products made on the app. The sanctuary is currently home to 220 animals with pigs being the main species as they are the ones most in need.
Magical is a friendly pig who was rescued from a Genadendal piggery which had been neglected for eight days after the man in charge ended up in hospital. A full grown pig, he weighed less than 30 kilograms when he was plucked from death’s door. Fully grown, healthy male pics usually weigh between 140 and 300 kilograms. Magical was rescued from a filthy sty where he was lying next to a deceased pig.
*The following image is not for sensitive viewers. It shows a very underweight Magical.
He now weighs a healthy 160 kgs and is a gentle, loving giant who expresses his gratitude to his rescuer, Nicola. Every time he sees her, he runs up and grunts joyously. Magical is known for his love of eye-contact with humans.
Then there’s Frodo (piglet), who was burnt in the recent fires in Grabouw. Louise, Phil and Don, three piglet siblings who were allowed to run loose in Greyton and were attacked by a pack of dogs. Fable (goat) was tied to a tree near Phillippi and stabbed multiple times. Hilda (goat) was found on Camps Bay beach with a dagger in her back. All these animals now live in harmony on the farm.
Farm animals are at the bottom of the heap when it comes to animal care and welfare. They solicit the least donations, possibly because their suffering makes people uncomfortable with their eating habits, writes Cape {town} Etc’s James Redman. Nicky stepped into this space because she cares about humans and animals.
Nicky believes that as long as there is violence towards animals there will be violence amongst humans. “If I can break the cycle, at least for a few, then I’m contributing to a more peaceful, humane and compassionate world in which humans are connected with other animals and the world we all share.”