With an influx of new arrivals at Kent-based Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats, Matt Huggins makes an unusual appeal for new foster homes.
First there was one, then there were more, and suddenly almost thirty goats had arrived at Buttercups Sanctuary for Goats within a fortnight. This left us bursting at the seams with a herd of 130, and at maximum capacity.
WHERE DID THEY ALL COME FROM?
As is the way with our rescues, they came from all manner of backgrounds. On this occasion, we even had one young lady arrive late one evening in the back of a police van – unusual, yes, but not a Buttercups first!
Our influx has also included a mother and young daughter duo who were abandoned at the side of a main road, as well as a family of thirteen pygmies. They had been kept beside a train line with inadequate fencing (sadly, the less said about this the better), and had received little to no handling. As a result, they were almost completely feral, and loading them all into our trailer was certainly a challenge.
HOW THEY’RE DOING
Our police custody reprobate turned out to be extremely well-natured, quickly. winning hearts over with her inquisitive and gentle personality, and fortunately came with no health issues. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the roadside Nanny, who was sporting a very large cyst on her chest and severe foot rot. Of course, both were quickly remedied and she is now on the mend. She and her young daughter are enjoying investigating their surroundings and getting to know their new friends; the Kid in particular is finding great delight in climbing all over the hay racks. Meanwhile, the feral thirteen have finally begun to show signs of calming. They are still far from placid, but are certainly more approachable. They also turned out to have an extra surprise in store for us.
As they had been running with a Billie, we thought it only prudent to get the does scanned (we all know how prolific male goats can be). Sure enough, as if we didn’t already have enough on our hands, we found five of the group to be pregnant, and fairly far along at that. We are now expecting the pitter-patter of tiny hooves within the next few weeks.
WHAT BEING FULL MEANS FOR THE SANCTUARY
Of course, all this is exactly what Buttercups is here for, and individually nothing we haven’t encountered before. However, thanks to the timing, we foundt. hat all of our available pens were now occupied. For the sanctuary, this poses two main issues. Firstly from a charitable point of view, we always aim to have at least one pen empty, so that we have a comfortable bed to offer any goats in an emergency. Secondly, from a management perspective, this will increase resource competition amongst the herd.
THE SOLUTION
Throughout much of its history, Buttercups has been running what we call ‘The Fostership Programme’. To sum up, we look for loving homes across Kent and East Sussex who are interested in keeping some goats of their own. The goats remain under our jurisdiction and care, with staff continuing to visit bi-annually and always being on call should any issues arise. However, rehoming them from the sanctuary itself provides both financial relief and frees up pen space – we feel that Buttercups, the fosterers and the goats all win! To help combat our sudden surge in numbers, we have launched an appeal looking for new Foster Homes, and if you feel this could be you, please get in touch with us at enquiries@buttercups.org.uk.
This article appears in the February 2025 edition of The Country Smallholder. You can buy the issue here.
