Welcome to Surge Sanctuary!
We are an animal sanctuary located on an 18 acre site in the rural Midlands of England.
Our mission is to offer a lifelong, no-kill, safe haven and forever home to abused and unwanted animals.
Our journey to 18 acres…
In September 2018, a small group of close friends from the animal rights organisation Surge, including vegan educator Earthling Ed, opened a non-profit vegan restaurant in London called Unity Diner.
Our mission was bold and unique, but we were determined to pull it off. We wanted to open a restaurant that used the power of plants to revolutionise the publics’ perceptions surrounding vegan food, but we also wanted to generate enough funds to be able to open an animal sanctuary. Somewhere that would be a true safe haven for animals - and where they would never, ever need to worry about being exploited, abused, or killed.
In late 2020, we did it.
The land was bought, with several members of our team and their family also selling their own home, and relocating, ready to spend the rest of their lives caring for the animals that society rejects and exploits.
Meet our residents!
We currently have over 100 rescued animals here at Surge Sanctuary, including these wonderful individuals:
Matilda and her family.
Matilda is an incredible individual. Born into the pig farming industry she escaped from the farm and gave birth to her piglets in a woodland.
Matilda now lives at Surge Sanctuary with her family, where she has spent over three years living a life of freedom and safety. She spends her days relaxing with her children, wallowing in mud and eating lots of delicious food and treats!
To watch her story, head over to matildaandthebraveescape.com
Eric.
You will never meet another sheep like Eric, he is truly one of a kind.
He was rescued at just 10 weeks old, just days before he was due to be killed so he could become Easter lunch. He’s grown up around dogs, and used to be in and out of the house with them when he was small, and we are pretty sure he thinks he’s a dog too.
Eric is a super friendly guy, who loves attention and is a bit of a poser in front of the camera.
His favourite snack is grapes and he loves it when it’s sunny!
Ella & Moksha.
Moksha and Ella are 8 and 6 years old and they can’t have any more calves or produce any more milk. Because of this, they’re now completely worthless to the dairy industry and they were being sent to the slaughterhouse.
The day of their murder was set for the day they arrived at Surge Sanctuary.
All Moksha and Ella have ever known is abuse. They’ve been moved between different farms and auction markets for their entire lives, all whilst having their children stolen from them, their milk stolen from them, and they would have had their lives stolen from them too.
These ladies are truly the best of friends, always grooming each other and showing affection.
Moksha and Ella will never see the inside of a slaughterhouse and they will never end up on someone’s dinner plate. They will only ever know love and freedom from now on.
Nigel.
Nigel was bought as a ‘mini pig’ - which don’t actually exist - and after a few days of exhibiting his natural behaviours, the person who bought him decided that they’d had enough of him, locked him in their kitchen and were planning on ‘booking him into a slaughterhouse’ if nobody else would look after him.
Thankfully, he now gets to live out the rest of his life in complete peace and harmony with the other animals here at the sanctuary.
He loves tomatoes and enjoys snuggling next to his pig friend Kevyn every night.
Daisy & Maisy.
Like Nigel, these girls came to us after being sold to someone as pet ‘micro pigs.’
Daisy is very sassy and a huge diva. She is the first resident to say hi to everyone coming in the gate, and she will moan until she gets the attention she demands!
Maisy is a little more shy and likes to sleep all day, but the two are never far apart.
Paul & Roo.
Paul and Roo were born into the dairy industry, and because they were born male and cannot produce milk for humans to consume, their bodies and lives were deemed financially worthless.
Thankfully, the farmer gave 20 calves to UK animal sanctuaries, and we were able to save baby Paul and Roo, who are now growing up healthy and happy here at Surge. Since they have been shown compassion and love from a young age, they are more confident than some of our other cows who were rescued as adults.
Rupert.
This cheeky chap was rescued by another amazing animal sanctuary who were at full capacity.
Now he is living with us and growing up to be the most energetic, curious, and playful lamb. He spends his days wandering around the sanctuary freely and getting up to mischief. He was best buds with our late lamb Derek, always keeping him company in his time of need.
If not for his rescue, Rupert could have been killed for someone’s Easter lunch. We are so glad he is safe now, and he never has to worry about being harmed by humans again.
Kevyn.
Kevyn used to live at a building site, and he wasn't really socialised with many other animals, apart from cats. When he first arrived at the sanctuary he was very nervous and just wanted to be left on his own.
He has slowly been socialising with the other pigs. Kevyn and Nigel clashed a little at the beginning, mainly because Nigel is super friendly and doesn’t always know to respect Kevyn’s personal space. However, slowly but surely, they are spending more and more time together. Nigel is great at making a cosy bed and we think this has won Kevyn’s friendship! Kevyn is a huge fan of fruit, although he doesn’t really care for vegetables.
Camila & Chloe.
These two ladies were rescued from the egg industry where they lived as ‘battery hens’.
When they came to us, they were in a very bad way with very few feathers left, and did not even know what grass was.
They now are loving life, with all of their feathers back, and they spend all day just chilling, finally being able to sit in the sunshine, breathing in fresh air.
They are both super friendly and are always together getting up to something.
Lisa, Rosé, Jennie & Jisoo.
Saved from Christmas 2020, Lisa, Rosé, Jennie and Jisoo have stuck together since they arrived at the sanctuary. They love to jump up high and roost on the fences and stable doors. They each have different patterns in their feathers and Lisa has the most amazing and beautiful grey eyes.
They were super timid at first, however they are gaining confidence around people everyday and have started taking hand fed fruit and veggie treats.
Harold & Fredrick are so happy to have these ladies around and they all love snuggling up and going to sleep together.
Pete.
In memory; 2017-2022
Pete loved exploring his surroundings at the sanctuary and then taking a well-deserved nap. He was also deaf and loved to make a huge amount of noise when anyone was around. He couldn’t hear himself, but liked to make sure that everyone else could.
Pete loved a belly rub, snuggling up with his friends for a snooze and his favourite snack was apples.
Frederick.
In memory; 2017-2022
Frederick was Harold’s shadow, and always one step behind him.
He was a little more reserved than his brother but just as inquisitive.
He was not keen on being picked up and put to bed, and would prefer to stay out all night and star gaze.
He loved being hand fed and watermelon was his favourite snack.
Harold.
In memory; 2017-2023
Harold and his brother Frederick were rescued from becoming Christmas turkeys when they were just chicks.
Harold was super nosey and is interested in all that was happening around him. Whenever there were people around he would wander over for attention so he could be a part of what is going on.
Most of all, he loved to show off his impressive tail feathers!
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“Veganism is progress. Not hurting animals for unnecessary and unjustifiable reasons is progress. Surge Sanctuary exists as part of the moral progression that society absolutely has to make.”
— Ed Winters