Why do we need farm animal sanctuaries?

​The public is mostly unaware of the conditions faced by farm animals, and of the sheer scale of the suffering they face. In Australia, in 2016 alone, 689,000,000 animals were confined and killed for food. Regarded as little more than commodities or products, these animals are not protected under the same legislation as the cats or dogs we share our homes with, despite being able to suffer just as significantly. As the products of agricultural corporations, farmed animals are among the most exploited and abused animals in the world.

These figures are overwhelming, especially when you stop to think that behind each and every statistic is an individual who wanted to live.  

Until we change the way we view animals and how we, they and the planet are inherently connected, things will not change for us, the planet or for them. At Little Oak Sanctuary our residents are advocates for their kind, helping people make the connection with them as individual beings who deserve nothing short of living their lives free from exploitation.

Animals Slaughtered in Australia 2021 ABS Livestock Products, Australia, Dec 2021 (cat. no. 7215.0)

Chickens = 690,455,900

Lambs = 20,923,500*

Sheep = 5,790,000

Cattle excluding calves = 6,001,700

Pigs= 5,591,000

TOTAL = 728,762,100**

*over 25% of lambs born in Australia die before they reach weaning age, due to exposure, abandonment, predation or illness. These lambs are not included in the 20,923,500 that survive to be slaughtered.

** This figure does not include animals who suffered to death before reaching the slaughterhouse, or fish or crustaceans