Animal Welfare Assurance

The care and wellbeing of our animals is of the highest priority

Ark Farm is a small family run smallholding business where our animals grow up in an environment surrounded by family and staff who have a genuine interest in animals, their welfare and helping other people learn and understand more about livestock and caring for animals. We are not a commercial farm, we do not supply any produce or meat to the food trade and none of our animals are specifically trained.

There over 200 animals on Ark Farm ranging from Owls to Cows and Rabbits to Donkeys. Most of our animals have be born and brought up as part of our ongoing educational mobile farm activities. From an early age our animals are put at ease in the presence of people and other animals and are no strangers to the environments we go to. We also have dedicated breeding stock which allows us to ensure that young animals can be introduced to the world earlier rather than later. And, after many years in operation we now have stock which are retired and spend their days happily grazing in the fields.

Our staff and teams are either qualified or in the process of an animal/agricultural apprenticeship with us and therefore already have a caring and compassionate nature towards the animals in their care. The DEFRA guidelines govern the movement of general livestock throughout the UK and as a legal requirement we have undertaken the necessary training and qualifications to allow us to move livestock. We use a particular brand of trailer which has suspension that offers a more comfortable journey for the stock on board and we ensure that there is more space in the trailers than the bare minimum required by law.

For all the words we may use, the actual proof is in the experiences of the animals and of the children and adults we visit. Whilst the animals may not be able to speak in a language most people would understand, their body language on visits would speak volumes: stressed and nervous animals probably wouldn't fall asleep, wouldn't come to the edge of the pen if there was room elsewhere and probably wouldn't have time to eat if they were in fear of attack: