News stories
Foals, foals and more foals...
The birth of a new Mini Shetland foal means we now have four tiny babies in our care.
Little Doc (pictured below) was born to mum Snow White on Thursday 1st May at 5.30am. He is the fourth foal to be born to the ponies we rescued from a farm in Buckinghamshire as part of an RSPCA operation, and he is a very welcome addition too!
Doc joins Tinkerbell, Peter Pan and Belle, who have all been born over the last six weeks to mums Elsie, Cinders, Gretel and Snow White. Tinkerbell was the first of the gang to arrive and after an initial few days of being cared for by our resident vet team, she is growing into a lovely and very friendly girl!
All the foals are Miniature Shetlands, which means they are even smaller than regular Shetland ponies...that means the babies are smaller than a medium sized dog! Although their mums are really quite nervous, the foals are quickly learning that humans can be friends and they really love cuddles...what a hardship for our staff!
In total, Redwings took in 21 ponies and donkeys on January 9th from a farm in Buckinghamshire, including donkey foal Esther who has since become a bit of a celebrity herself. Since the rescue, that number has swelled to 26 with the birth of another donkey foal, Timothy, the day after the rescue, plus the four mini Shetland foals. All the donkeys were named after bible characters by our staff, while the ponies have been named after fairytale characters!
Legal proceedings are now underway against five members of a family for 12 charges relating to the Animal Welfare Act. Following a pre-trial review on May 13th regarding the animal cruelty charges being faced by the owners, the main court case is set to begin on 8th December at Bicester Magistrates Court. We are also waiting for a judicial review to take place following an initial order from a judge decreeing that the animals should be returned to their owners prior to the trial taking place, a decision that has since been suspended following an appeal from the RSPCA.
Redwings has a lot of experience in dealing with large rescue operations, but we have never been involved in anything on such a scale. Thirty equines were initially found dead, and 14 more were removed from the premises owing to concerns for their welfare. Then on January 9th, Redwings staff helped remove a further 97 horses, ponies and donkeys from the site, many of which were in poor condition. In total, more than 30 of our staff attended including two members of our vet team, and they described it as one of the saddest cases they have ever witnessed.
We have been overwhelmed by the ongoing support of the public as we take care of these poor ponies and donkeys. We have been amazed at the level of donations that have come pouring in to help us care for them, and more than 19,000 of you signed a petition to prevent the animals being returned to their owners prior to the trial too. We would like to thank everyone for their generosity and support.
Thank you.
