Their last days - unless we raise the funds needed
Donation protected
Update November 16, 2024
Hi everyone,
let me give you a very quick update. The situation at Heartstone is still extremely tough, and now beyond urgent, again. Many of you will know that we moved to a new farm in Co. Meath in late May, in a last-ditch attempt to save the cows after their lives were at imminent risk as a result of the previous farm in Sligo having been constantly flooded, sinking, and the infrastructure collapsing into an underground aquifer. And, it did indeed save them! They also overcame the next hurdle, the mandatory yearly test that decides between life and death. They survived, again.
However, unfortunately we are far from finally safe. We still need to raise the funds to secure the farm for winter, and time for that is running out in lightning speed. We have to have raised the missing sum by or around the 15th of November - not even one week from now. It is our last hope to get through winter, and if I'm honest, it is very, very late now, with temperatures of -5°C approaching, and I can only do what I always do to try and get the cows through another winter under critical conditions - but I need your help to at least secure the farm so that I am even able to do that.
As you probably know, there is nowhere else to go for a herd of 18+ rescued cows in Ireland, including two blind and one sight-impaired one, and many with other special needs, and babies.
Can we please all pull together and make that happen and finally, finally, finally save the cows? Please? Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your support!
Nía
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Hi everyone,
I hope all of you reading this are safe and well; at Heartstone, things are... tough. With farm after farm and (potential) opportunity after opportunity having fallen through one after the other (mostly due to a lack of funds) there is, once again, one tiny last hope: a property I was fond of in the past but that had been sold - or so we thought - is back on the market.
It is still out of reach with the money we already have - in the fundraisers and what incredibly kind private donors have promised - but more affordable than the previous ones. (Side note: the fluctuations in the amount to be raised stem from the current availability of at least half-suitable properties at a given time. Typically, there are only one or maybe two of that kind available - or none.)
The new place is far from ideal, but would provide the lifeline we so desperately need. With all the funds we hopefully have available, we would be back to needing another 150k, roughly - no price has been agreed upon yet - to make that work.
Will you help us secure that lifeline? We would have to close the sale this second week of May and can do so only if the funds are available. If we cannot secure that property, it is too late to relocate before the deadline I mentioned below is reached. This would be the end of Heartstone, and the cow gang.
Please, please, please be so kind to spread this fundraiser as far and wide as possible; please give what you can, if you can; and please be so kind to reach out to anyone you can think of who might be in a position to help us raise the funds. You might imagine the despair I am writing this in. Please help. Please.
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Another winter is finally over, and we are struggling, but still alive. Under regular circumstances, a time for the worry and tension to ease up a little, to feel some relief we somehow got through the winter and there is hope we might be able to relocate before the next one hits or a storm will finally bring the remaining infrastructure down.
However, additional circumstances are now imminently putting the cows' lives in danger. Laws, focusing on the protection of the animal product loving consumer, apply to farmed animal sanctuaries, too. The literal deadline for that has already passed; I got an extension, but only for a few very short weeks. These weeks are now the last and final chance to relocate; no other option would solve the problem. In fact, there is no other option that would not mean the immediate destruction of the whole herd. Being considered a part of animal agriculture, in legal terms, comes with its own set of rules, despite they will of course never enter the so-called food chain. And it is also one of the reasons caring for cows is not remotely the same as rescuing companion animals, horses, or even pigs or sheep. They are the most highly regulated species of domestic animals.
But, there is a glimpse of hope left: we finally found a farm that fulfills the most basic requirements for a place that we could realistically relocate to. It has sufficient land and shelter space, the yard and sheds are solid and able to withstand the weight and impact of fully-grown cows, and it has the infrastructure required for keeping cows (and sheep and ponies). And, a very good price (and urgency) make it the last hope, the last and only option. The now-or-never chance. We need to make this happen.
It will hopefully save the lives of the current gang, and allow for many more in need to find a safe space to live a life worth living, as free as possible. After all, the need for sanctuary space for cows is exorbitant in Ireland; there is only one vegan sanctuary with a handful of cows, and no place to go for the many cows and calves on the waiting list, and the ones both of our places constantly get asked to save from slaughter. Please help. Please donate as much as you can, if you at all can. Please share this fundraiser as far as wide as you can, as often as you can, and specifically try to share the details and reach out to anyone who might be in a position to help with a larger sum that will get us closer to safety in the short time frame we have left.
Thank you so much!
P.S. The third and fourth photo show the premises we are hoping to move to.
UPDATE
☙ Thank you with all my heart to everyone who has supported this fundraiser so far! ❧
Most of you will know that, differing from the original aim of this fundraiser, which was improving the situation for current and future Heartstone residents by adding land for grazing, in the meantime it is to the largest extent about survival; survival of Heartstone as a sanctuary; and even the individual residents themselves.
Heartstone needs to urgently relocate, which requires the acquisition of a residential 'cattle' farm in the East of the country. The situation at the current farm here in Sligo has disastrously deteriorated due to torrential rainfall caused by the unfolding climate catastrophe, causing the farm to sink and the buildings to collapse. You can find more details about the situation and some photos in my social media posts, especially on Instagram (links at the bottom of this page).
On top of the need to relocate, the property we were originally fundraising for has long found another owner, and so has the second, third, fourth one... with property prices continuously skyrocketing due to Covid, Brexit and reasons unknown to me, and property being snapped up by what must be investors in a matter of days.
However, there is again one (and only one!) property in all of Ireland for sale that would suit the requirements of the current and future Heartstone gang (including those in foster care), and it would thankfully still allow us to expand at least to a small extent into the other areas we want - and for environmental reasons desperately need - to branch into, most importantly vegan rewilding (or, more precise, v-wilding - see explanation below) and the practice of and education about truly sustainable veganic food growing.
However, for the reasons mentioned, it is also a lot more expensive; much more so than the goal of this fundraiser suggests. Please support Heartstone and this fundraiser if you can; please share, and forward it to anyone who might be able to help; especially philanthropists, donor syndicates, or other groups or individuals who might appreciate the unique holistic and intergrated concept behind Heartstone - to my knowledge also the only vegan organic sanctuary in the world - and who might also be in the position to help out with a larger sum. Given the disastrous situation at the current Heartstone farm and the developments on the property market, the clock is very much ticking!
Heartstone...
... is a veganic (vegan organic) animal sanctuary in the North West of Ireland, providing rescued animals with a safe haven for life, a peaceful refuge to live out their lives loved and cherished. Heartstone also promotes rewilding - the single most effective tool to mitigate the disastrous effects of climate breakdown heading our way - sustainability and holistic nonviolence, actively developing a model of a peaceful co-existence with nature and wildlife.
Animal Rights don't end at rescued animals being alive, safe, and cared-for. They also require us to ensure they are able to live a life to their liking, a life truly worth living. This, of course, requires companions of the same species, ideally several individuals (at least three in the case of cows, and indeed most species) so they can choose their friends just like we do. In acknowledgement of their individuality, personalities, and rights, a core concept of Heartstone is granting the residents to live their lives as freely, and with as much freedom of choice (where to go, how to spend their time, whom to interact with etc.), as possible. [For a more detailed examination of this concept you might want to read my article "Rewilding Our Understanding Of Animal Rights". *]
The residents' health and well-being are first priority and Heartstone works with several veterinarians and natural health care practitioners to ensure optimum care. Choosing natural, species-appropriate and organic foods and care products for the residents is one of the ways in which Heartstone strives to provide the best possible - and least environmentally harmful - care to all, that also doesn't externalise the true cost of products to their producers or the environment. Taking responsibility and causing the least possible harm to the world at large is of highest importance at Heartstone.
Visitors are welcome; the interaction between animals and visitors is encouraged to the degree that it doesn't affect the residents adversely. Interactions are always at the discretion of the animal - they are free to remove themselves from the presence of visitors at any time. Most of them, however, love humans to bits, and thoroughly enjoy their company.
The need for more land.
Heartstone is in urgent need of more land for grazing, and to allow the residents to exercise natural behavioural patterns like roaming. On the current property, the Heartstone residents have only 10 acres at their disposal, which is by far not enough. Overstretched land means not only that there is a lack of sufficient grass for grazing, but also that the land is literally being destroyed by the animals' weight, especially the cows' - which is far from sustainable in many regards, from the release of soil carbon, to destroying the essential mycorrhizal networks, and the land's ability to store water.
More land will also allow the expansion of the sanctuary's rescue efforts. Many of you are likely aware that Ireland is in desperate need of more rescue capacity for farmed animals, most importantly cows, who currently have no other safe place to go. Due to the situation described in the update, two recently rescued cows are already living in foster care, and have to be integrated with the Heartstone gang as soon as possible.
For the time being, no animals, however in danger their lives may be, can be taken in. The situation at the farm, and the financial situation, doesn't allow for any more intakes.
The (relocation and) extention of Heartstone will also allow efforts in areas absolutely essential for the survival of humankind as a whole, such as reforestation with native trees where appropriate, veganic food growing in truly sustainable and integrated systems like no-dig polycultures and agroforestry, a sanctuary for wildlife and insects, especially bees, and, most importantly, rewilding on as large a scale as possible - or, for a more precise term, v-wilding, passive rewilding according to vegan principles, where no apex predators or large herbivores are being introduced, as you can see in practice at my friend and collaborator's fantastic large-scale project Dunsany Nature Reserve.
And... an opportunity has arisen!
After years of watching the market closely, with properties having come to the market and being sold again, lately often in a matter of a single week's time, while prices have continued to skyrocket, a suitable property has now become available again.
The property includes diverse lands, suitable not only for grazing, but also for development in the areas Heartstone is planning to extend into. The existent infrastructure as well as the lands have proven appropriate for the impact cows inevitably have given their weight (up to a tonne each) and size, in drought as well as in torrential rain - indeed the single most important factor determining whether a property can be suitable for the Heartstone gang. The living quarters provide room for live-in volunteers, and the layout of the lands is suitable for dividing into rewilded areas, food growing areas and grazing, and in one lot, offering maximum safety for the residents.
As a side note: Though costly and at first glance impressive, the property is almost as far from my personal preference as it can get, for many reasons. But the animals have to come first, and don't allow me a choice, neither regarding the area to move to, nor the type or style or setting of the dwelling: the requirements in terms of infrastructure are what decides.
The property already has an array of natural biodiversity, established hedgerows and an ancient covert, and will of course hold a 'hunting prohibited' status. In some areas, former tillage fields will allow for a rewilding project of maximum effectivity. A variety of grasses, herbs, bushes and trees on the property will provide shelter and habitat for residents and wildlife alike. They will also allow the residents to self-medicate when needed and guarantee sufficient intake of phytonutrients - which are most often lacking in purposefully grown feed - helping prevent illness in the first place.
Apart from furthering biodiversity in times of the Sixth Mass Extinction, great emphasis will be put on guaranteeing maximum ability of the land and vegetation to capture and sequester carbon, and to offset as much as possible the harmful greenhouse gases the ruminant residents inevitably release.
How this will enable Heartstone and its mission to grow.
Along with the aforementioned urgent need for more grazing and space to provide a higher quality of life for the current residents, the new land will also allow Heartstone to rescue more animals in need, and to have a beneficial impact on the environment and wildlife. The additional acreage will also allow a significant portion of the land to be v-wilded to sequester carbon, protect wildlife, and nurture biodiversity.
Rewilding, along with a vegan and organic diet, has been identified by science and the UN as the single most efficient step required to mitigate at least some of the disastrous effects the climate crisis will pose upon us. Furthermore, the additional land will enable Heartstone to engage in truly sustainable plant-based food production. Skill training on veganic growing, sustainable living, and ecosystem and wildlife habitat restoration, are medium-term goals as well.
The aims for the additional property reflect the ideals already lived by at Heartstone. The intention is to create as environmentally-friendly a place as possible and keep the impact of all residents on the environment and climate as low as possible. Caring not only about animals, but also about humans, the climate, and the planet itself, are at the core of Heartstone's values - all activities are already and will in the future be guided by these principles.
If that resonates with you...
... I would hugely appreciate if you supported the cause by sharing the fundraiser, by forwarding it specifically to philanthropists, donor syndicates or other people or groups who might be in a position to help, and of course, if possible and you are able, with your own contribution. It will help Heartstone to continue its mission, and have the physical space and infrastructure to pursue the aforementioned projects. The sum that needs to be raised is comparably large, so every bit helps!
Thank you with all my heart,
Nía
More information about Heartstone online:
More links and articles about Heartstone: https://linktr.ee/HeartstoneSanctuary
I SEE LOVE - a song about Heartstone: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CKj1ZYdJFRq/
Read more
Friends,
Absolutely BEYOND URGENT.
Please, please help Heartstone Sanctuary.
We have literally no time left!!!
Update (May 7, 2024)
Hi everyone,
I hope all of you reading this are safe and well; at Heartstone, things are... tough. The last farm we have been fundraising for has now been sold to someone else. With that gone, and yet another one fallen through we have been scrambling to secure the last few days, there is, once again, only one last hope: a property I was fond of in the past but that had been sold - or so we thought - is back on the market.
It is still out of reach with the money we already have - in the fundraisers and what incredibly kind private donors have promised - but more affordable than the previous one. (Side note: the fluctuations in the amount to be raised simply stem from the current availability of at least half-suitable properties at a given time. Typically, there are only one or maybe two of that kind available - or none.)
The new place is far from ideal, but would provide the lifeline we so desperately need. With all the funds we hopefully have available, we would be back to needing another 150k, roughly - no price has been agreed upon yet - to make that work.
Will you help us secure that lifeline? We would have to close the sale this second week of May and can do so only if the funds are available. If we cannot secure that property, it is too late to relocate before the deadline I mentioned below is reached. This would be the end of Heartstone, and the cow gang.
Please, please, please be so kind to spread this fundraiser as far and wide as possible; please give what you can, if you can; and please be so kind to reach out to anyone you can think of who might be in a position to help us raise the funds. You might imagine the despair I am writing this in. Please help. Please.
(Below are the original details from the fundraiser, which still stand, but I've added the current update from Heartstone above.)
This is not a drill. I know this is a massive amount of money. Especially to be able to fundraise in literally a few days. (But there might also be some people who have larger funds available to them to help save Heartstone--Please please help us reach them too! Ask them to donate too. Please!)
But, these are literally some of the last pictures that will exist of the gang if we aren't able to come up with funds to move in the next several days, as they are up against a deadline that the sanctuary has no control over, and no control over what will happen to them. (Please note: the deadline is not about animal welfare concerns.)
This is totally out of the sanctuary's control; the literally only way for them to be saved is to secure funds and purchase a property before the end of the week, that has cattle handling facilities, sheds, and land (or, alternatively, a suitable property with sheds and cattle handling facilities (and land) be donated to Heartstone).
I wish so much that this were an exaggeration of the situation, but unfortunately it is not. Lives are literally, imminently, at stake.
As many of you know, Heartstone has also been up against a deadline (not set by the sanctuary), and it was essential that the sanctuary relocate before the deadline. The deadline has now passed, without being able to secure enough funds to move (despite immense effort) and everyone is now in absolutely unquestionably imminent danger.
Heartstone has been struggling and desperate to relocate for quite some time (as many of you are probably aware) as the situation has been becoming ever more desperate by the day. The sanctuary urgently needs to move because of the severe flooding conditions on the farm which have resulted in sheds and useable ground breaking up, making the conditions and the work impossible and situation unliveable for everyone.
Heartstone has been fundraising for over 2 years for a new property, and every avenue has been tried as far as other options for the gang to go to. There are none. All options have been explored and exhausted. Heartstone is the only sanctuary in the whole country that has provided safety for a large number of cows; in fact, there are only known to be THREE other cows in the whole country in sanctuary (and that sanctuary is not taking in more). There is nowhere else for the cows to go, no other sanctuary or private home for them to go to. Either Heartstone secures a new property immediately, or these are the cows' last days (again, not by Heartstone's choice, and against Heartstone's will).
Through some miracle (and huge amounts of enquiries) we have been made aware of a property that while not perfect, will at least suit enough to save the gang and give them a chance at a future.
We have scoured properties for months, only to have suitable ones snatched from under our noses because we didn't have the funds.
It is D-day now, there is no time left. We have pared down what is required for a property to the absolute minimum, compromising on the amount of land needed (even though more is really needed), there are literally zero properties on the market that meet even the pared-down requirements. The fact this one has become available is something of a miracle in itself.
Angel and Bailey, Ernie and Samira, Stevie, Saffie, Ivy and Baby Boris, and all the others who have found sanctuary at Heartstone--they have only us. With galactic amounts of luck we may have a last chance to save them but there are only days left.
Please, please, can we pull together as a community and save the gang? Before it is too late? (As it is very, very nearly so already). Every donation helps.
Thank you so much.
(And please, please share with anyone you know who might be able to help, especially those who might have the resources to donate larger sums.)
(More info about Heartstone, and pics, can be found on their social media pages; the links can be found here https://linktr.ee/heartstonesanctuary )
*fundraiser written by me, Kay, a supporter, on behalf of the needs of Heartstone
**if this property is sold before we can secure it but another suitable one miraculously becomes available, funds will be used for whichever suitable property we can secure.
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previous updates moved to below:
Update from Nía at Heartstone (May 2, 2024):
Hi everyone,
I have to rush writing this, much too late already since I had to unload another 130 hay bales this morning (which will last 11 days).
But, I need to update y'all, and I don't even want to, because things are always getting more and more complicated, and time of course has long run out. To still attempt relocation within the time we have left borders insanity, but you will all agree there is no other option.
The farm we have been fundraising for is completely out of reach thanks to the last minute bidding war the other parties have started. All the special arrangements and possibilities out the window in the face of more money. But, I guess we need not be surprised that (ex) farmers are not sympathetic enough to forsake money for the sake of rescuing animals, and/or taking the farm out of animal agriculture.
With that gone, and yet another one fallen through we have been scrambling to make possible the last few days, there is, once again, one tiny last hope: a property I was very fond of in the past but that had been sold - or so we thought - has been put back on the market. It is still out of reach with the money we already have - in the fundraisers and what kind private donors have promised - but much more affordable now than the farm you have seen in the photos.
The place doesn't have any human accommodation for either volunteers or me, not enough land in the long term, and the location is far from ideal, too, but the setup would provide the lifeline we so desperately need. With all the funds we hopefully have available, we would be back to needing another 150k, roughly - no price has been agreed upon yet - to make that work.
Do you think you can find it within you to try one last time? I can't promise it will still be possible, but I found a solicitor who's willing to push it all through in the time we have, and the setup allows for a very quick changeover and immediate possession.
I am aware it seems, for a long time, like magically a little more time and just one more property show up when the time has run out, but that's not magic or falsities, it's simply due to a small handful of people refusing to stop fighting. Will you help us?
Update from Nía at Heartstone, April 28, 2024:
Hi everyone,
Tomorrow (Monday, April 29), 5pm Irish time/12pm EST is closing time for the sale of the property I have put an offer on - the last and only half-suitable farm available - and a new bidder has emerged yesterday, pushing the price above the original asking price. As a result, we now still need to raise nearly 200k EUR, on top of what has been raised already - by tomorrow.
Otherwise, the farm pictured in the last photo, the last and only half-suitable property available, will be sold to someone else, and it is too late to relocate before the deadline I mentioned below is reached. This would be the end of Heartstone, and the gang.
You might imagine the despair I am writing this in. Please help. Please.
Please, please, please be so kind to spread this fundraiser as far and wide as possible; please give what you can, if you can; and please be so kind to reach out to anyone you can think of who might be in a position to help us make up the remainder of the needed funds.
Please do whatever you can to make it happen. We must believe in miracles - as magical as they are, they still require humans to do whatever is in their power. Thank you so much!
UPDATE from Heartstone (April 7, 2024);
Hi everyone,
As you can see, this fundraiser has not been able to raise remotely the money needed to buy a suitable place that Heartstone could realistically relocate to. At least not yet.
Another winter is nearly over, and we are struggling, but still alive. Under regular circumstances a time for the worry and tension to ease up a little, to feel some relief we somehow got through the winter and there is hope we might be able to relocate before the next one hits or a storm will finally bring the remaining infrastructure down.
However, additional circumstances are now imminently putting the cows' lives in danger. Laws, focusing on the protection of the animal product loving consumer, apply to farmed animal sanctuaries, too. The literal deadline for that has already passed; the sanctuary got an extension, but only for a few very short weeks. These weeks are now the last and final chance to relocate; no other option would solve the problem. In fact, there is no other option that would not mean the immediate destruction of the whole herd. Being considered a part of animal agriculture, in legal terms, comes with its own set of rules, despite they will of course never enter the so-called food chain. And it is also one of the reasons caring for cows is not remotely the same as rescuing companion animals, horses, or even pigs or sheep. They are the most highly regulated species of domestic animals.
But, there is a glimpse of hope left: we finally found a farm that fulfills the most basic requirements for a place that we could realistically relocate to. It has sufficient land and shelter space, the yard and sheds are solid and able to withstand the weight and impact of fully-grown cows, and it has the infrastructure required for keeping cows (and sheep and ponies). And, a very good price (and urgency) make it the last hope, the last and only option. The now-or-never chance. We need to make this happen.
It will hopefully save the lives of the current gang, and allow for many more in need to find a safe space to live a life worth living, as free as possible. After all, the need for sanctuary space for cows is exorbitant in Ireland; there is only one vegan sanctuary with a handful of cows, and no place to go for the many cows and calves on the waiting list, and the ones both of our places constantly get asked to save from slaughter. Please help. Please donate as much as you can, if you at all can. Please share this fundraiser as far as wide as you can, as often as you can, and specifically try to share the details and reach out to anyone who might be in a position to help with a larger sum that will get us closer to safety in the short time frame we have left.
Thank you so much!
P.S. The last photo is one image of the the premises we are hoping to move to.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kay Beely
Organizer
County Sligo
Nía Ní Gréine
Beneficiary