Pig Lift Fundraiser | Beneath The Wood Sanctuary

Urgent Pig Lift Fundraiser

As we all know most pigs are brutally killed at a very young age of 5 to 6 months and when they weigh 200 to 300 lbs. Breeding sows in the industry are impregnated over and over until they are also slaughtered after a few years. There are no pigs who make it to old age or even middle age for that matter and their care is minimal. Because these farmed pigs have been bred and cross bred to gain lots of weight and fast they are far bigger than their original wild ancestors.

Beneath The Wood Sanctuary saved 91 pigs from this horrific fate and from extreme cruelty at a contaminated farm and illegal slaughterhouse in Pembrokeshire

This rescued herd need our URGENT help for the manufacture of a custom-made pig lift to clip their growing hooves and give them other trotter treatments.

Pigs have very small legs for the size of their bodies and are prone to leg issues and like all hoofed animals unless they can wear their hooves down in wild terrain their hooves grow just like our toe nails do and in their case need to be filed down. There is a problem with this as there are no safe mechanisms in place to be able to do this because the pig industry does not care and most pigs get killed before they reach adulthood and their hooves start to grow.

Many of Sasha’s pigs at Beneath the Wood Sanctuary are now over half a tonne and are enormous.

They are not like tame horses who can have a farrier visit and lift each leg to file the hoof. They would not stand still for this to occur and many still do not trust humans because of the horror they experienced and witnessed. So there are only 2 options the first is sedation and this is very dangerous and can be fatal. The other and only viable option is to lift each piggy safely and then to work on their feet while their legs dangle. There are no machines to do this so Sasha is going to have to have one made and one that could safely and comfortably hold and lift a pig long enough for her to file the toes and check their feet each year.

In America there is a commercial pig lift available for small breeding sows and this idea of safely containing, then lifting them is the only practical and safe way to deal with caring for all of the piggy trotters. However the device in America is not big enough or strong enough to lift such large fully grown pigs. So a mobile pig lift has to be made that can do the job. The pig lift is absolutely vital to the life-long care of the sanctuary pigs, the bigger they are the more foot care is important.

Ideally all pigs should have their feet checked at least once a year. But in the UK we are very behind on pet pig care and best practice. But it is a growing need as there are more and more pet pigs and sanctuary pigs needing this care. Sasha has designed this new pig lift so it is mobile and can go on a trailer to move to different sites. This means that eventually this pioneering pig lift can potentially help pigs in other sanctuaries and other pet pigs in need.

Sasha has been working alongside a design engineer and after many months they have now finalised the design. The design and manufacture (including materials) of the pig lift will cost around £17,000. We are aiming to raise £12,000 to go towards this amount.

It would be so wonderful for this pig lift to be made and to show the industry that we as a vegan community can not only rescue such large herds but also have their long term care and health covered and that we mean business when caring for those who have been rescued. We need to create these systems as we create a more compassionate future.

Many piggies can all have their needed pedicures done safely and be protected from becoming lame and having painful foot conditions.

Thank you from all of the piggies at Beneath the Wood Sanctuary.

The link to donate is globalvegancrowdfunder.org/urgent-pioneering-pig-lift-fundraise/