On October 31st, Contented Pig Inn was hit by a serious bushfire which had been burning out of control in the surrounding area. Following a prepared fire plan, the team onsite fought sucessfully for nearly 24 hours to keep the pigs safe, and to protect their home and sanctuary.
Most imporantly, everyone, pigs and humans got though alive and physically unharmed, however the fire has taken its toll on the sanctuary, leaving a costly trail of destruction and a huge cleanup job.
Together our team, volunteers and supporters have worked to create this refuge, which provides a happy and safe life for pigs who have been rescued from neglect and abuse. The sanctuary is an important place for the pigs, wildlife and humans alike and many are devastated by this news and how it has impacted the animals.
As a non-profit animal rescue organization, we live week to week to meet our already high food and care costs and where we stand it is going to be very difficult to bounce back from this. The most important thing, is that we can continue to keep the pigs safe and cared for, regardless of what mother nature delivers.
The recovery, repair and preparation is estimated to cost a minimum of $20,000,
that’s why we are now reaching out to the community for support!
This event has caused some significant loss of supplies, incurred damage to the property and also identified the weak points in our fire defense, which we absolutely must rectify to ensure we are prepared for the fire season which continues ahead.
Approximately 400m of boundary fencing, and a large store of fencing supplies (poles & rails) which were destined to become new piggy paddocks were all destroyed in the fire.
The land has been trashed by the fire, and a cleanup job is in order to make the property safe and accessible again.
What we need onsite to stay prepared.
Access to water; We need water to be at the ready in several holding tanks around the sanctuary rather than filling and transporting from a central source, especially when time is of the essence.
Fire fighting pump; Shockingly, our pump died on the eve of the fire! We managed to repair it in the nick of time, but it is absoloutely terrifying to consider how things would have gone without this. In the future a reliable, working pump is non- negotiable.
The bobcat was very valuable in the fight, and will be the key to cleaning up the rubble and rebuilding what was lost. Unfortnately it has had a hard run and there are some big mechanical issues which need addressing for it to work properly for the cleanup, and for it to resume its indespensible role as the “sanctuary muscle”. Fixing the bobcat is going to be costly, but much more useful and economic than hiring someone, or buying a new one!
Access to food and supplies has also become immediately more challenging and costly due to local road closures and we will likely see this impact prices and availability.
This fire poses a huge setback to the wellbeing of our sanctuary and what we are able to provide for the residents.
Please help to put this behind us and prepare for next time so we can get back to what is most important…Saving pigs and helping them to live their best lives.
Thankyou so much for being here during this difficult time.