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Last Saturday (22nd Nov) a whole host of people taking the Great Vegan Challenge joined us for our annual visit to The Retreat Animal Rescue near Ashford in Kent. This wonderful sanctuary provides a home for a whole host of farmed animals saved from salughter, including cows, pigs, chickens, goats, ducks and many others. Owned and run by vegans, we could think of no where better to take our Challengers to meet animals like the ones they were saving by going vegan.
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Despite extremely muddy conditions, the rain held off and everyone had a wonderful time. Billy – who runs the sanctuary – was the perfect host and took us all on a full tour of the site. We got to meet all the animals, hear their stories and even play with them too. As ever, the pigs were the stars of the show and enjoyed many a back-scratch and belly-rub. One visitor, surprised by how friendly and affectionate they were, commented on how much they reminded him of his dog at home. The cows also made a big impression, with one of the children developing quite a bond with the Retreat’s largest resident, Arthur – a huge but very gentle Fresian bull.
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The day ended with a vegan feast layed on by us – the Animal Aid staff – for our guests, as well as some of the staff and volunteers at the sanctuary (plus one or two cheeky chickens!) Given the requests for recipes, I think it went down well, especially the cake.
A huge thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a great day, and a special thanks to Billy and everyone at The Retreat for their kindness and the amazing work they do for the animals!
