THE OWNER of a travelling farm park has launched a £30,000 crowdfunding campaign to save the business from sinking.
And since its launch on Thursday, March 19 more than £21,000 has been donated to keep the farm animals alive and healthy.
Miller’s Ark — based in Hook — are seen each year at the Wokingham May Fayre and school fetes, shows and residential homes across the borough, bringing rare British breeds to the stage.
And now, Elizabeth Miller — who founded the farm park 29-years-ago — is appealing to the generosity of visitors to keep the business alive through lockdown.
“We struggled for some time to come up with an appropriate figure, and were crunching the numbers,” she explained.
“I just thought, I can’t put £30,000, we will never reach that and it just looks so high. But it is what it is — £30,000 is our minimum operating costs for three months.
“We have animals to feed and care for, they’re our responsibility and we love them.
“We want to be able to continue our work after lockdown with education and therapy visits.”
Last month, the farm faced a £5,000 vet bill for two of their donkeys.
Giuliana — who appeared to be perfect from birth — began struggling to breathe.
Specialist vets at the equine hospital in Liphook discovered there was an issue with her windpipe, and her health deteriorated before she was put down.
And one of the other donkeys, Joy, went into a complicated labour, but her foal did not make it.
With a pot of donations to turn to, the farm was able to begin paying off the vet bill for the two animals.
Ms Miller explained that in order to keep the farm’s income up, they are encouraging people to sponsor an animal as well.
“Some people like to get more involved through that route,” she said. “Sometimes it’s nice to contribute and have a bit of fun. We have set up an animal dating platform on the website for people to choose their favourite to sponsor.
“Lots of young children love sponsoring our birds; the chickens and ducks and geese. And some adults want to go for the bigger animals, like our bull.
“It’s about getting people involved, and lots of people are struggling financially through this, so we are only charging £2 for this.”
And animal enthusiasts can keep up with the Miller’s Ark antics via their digital newspaper subscription.
“It’s full of lots of exclusive content for people who are really passionate about our animals,” said Ms Miller.
“We’re on our fourth edition now and they’re £3 each.
“The sheep are still lambing, and the goat kids and donkey foals are still being born.
“They, and the sows and piglets, cows and calves and many beautiful birds we have on the farm, all still need to be fed and cared for on a daily basis.”
And the work never stops. “We had a donkey foal born on Sunday night, which was amazing,” said Ms Miller. “And we were able to share a video to all of our supporters via social media.
“We don’t stop. We’ve got the farm, the barns full of cattle and sheep.
“And lots of little lambs jumping around the fields.
“I love farming, we’re rooted in the seasons and part of the cycle of nature.
“We’re in touch with the land, and I’m grateful for that.
“And once we’re able to reopen our doors, we want to encourage people to come down and experience that themselves.
“We create a really hands on interaction with the animals, you can step into the pen and rub the pigs bellies or sit for an hour with the goats if you want to.
“It’s about bringing joy to people’s lives.”
But as the next few months of lockdown continue to pose uncertainty for the staff and animals, Ms Miller is hoping to keep raising funds to keep Miller’s Ark afloat.
To donate to the Miller’s Ark fundraiser, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/save-miller039s-ark-from-sinking
