Hugletts Wood Farm Sanctuary

Cow Sanctuary in England

Hugletts Wood Farm provides a sanctuary to cows and their friends. A home for life to farm animals and birds, rescued from the misery of the meat and dairy industry and the horrors of the slaughterhouse. 

Hugletts Wood farm is the only farm animal sanctuary in the UK that operates a dedicated Cow Protection Program. It is also the only vegan farm in the UK that runs such a sanctuary.

We try to self-fund as much as possible, growing vegetables and fruits and producing a whole range of woodland products and natural Ahimsa compost but always welcome your support in whatever form it may take!

Hugletts Wood in East Sussex gives sanctuary and a home-for-life to any farmed animal who makes their life there; life meaning natural life. Where ‘no kill’ actually means no kill and where the palliative care offered is of the highest quality, providing round-the-clock nursing and one-to-one loving support for anyone preparing to leave their body at the time that is right for them, rather than it being at the founders’ convenience. Everyone at Hugletts Wood enjoys a gentle, natural existence as close to that which they would have, had they the chance to live absolutely free.

Over 21 years ago we decided that we personally were going to make a change; living a life in nature, aspiring to live by the principles of non-violence that encompass all living beings. In our book, everything has the right to life; be it a cow, a tree or a bug, and as such, it is our duty not to jeopardise the life of anything or anyone through apathy. All life is equal.

Doubtless, we go against all the notions people have of what a sanctuary should be like. Hugletts Wood is not a visitors’ centre, where the residents are on show every day, easily accessible in pens and fed too much food as the sole means of interaction afforded, for the benefit of the visitors. We wholeheartedly believe that people should interact with farm animals in their natural environment. No one is expected to fund our lifestyle or provide for us. In fact we work the land and the ancient woodland as well as caring for the residents in order to manifest the majority of the expenses associated with running the sanctuary as well as maintaining ourselves.

We are not trying to set an example of how to live in the 21st century; we are simply two people getting on with the life we believe in. There comes a time when one just has to walk the talk.

We can find ourselves caring for around 300 animals and birds at any one time; rescued from the horrors of the meat and dairy industry or damaged by so-called country sports. At least five fallow deer fawns have been born at the sanctuary this year; countless owls; screech, barn, tawny and little owls thrive in the woodland, not to mention the adders, bats, buzzards, badgers, foxes and countless other mammals; birds and invertebrates who live peacefully, alongside the rescued animals. A number of special needs cows and sheep share life with the able-bodied; each finding the quality of life best suited to them.

There is a serenity here that comes, in part from the animals knowing they are not just safe or being cared for but that they are loved, one and all; living in an atmosphere in which they are able to blossom and reach their full potential, regardless of age or the restrictions their physical or mental challenges might put on them.

Matthew and I are not afraid to love the animals and talk about our love for them. This world is full of knowledgeable people who don’t want to say anything that might infer they are not ‘normal’. Time for people to come out and say what they think and feel, without a care for being labelled crazy or emotional and share their fears for what is happening to our world and all of its inhabitant so we can start to put it right. Contact us at wenda@huglettswoodfarm.org