| How it
all Started - In 1991 Jasmin, the strongest, eldest cow in her
herd, became homeless. The Christian farm community in Glastonbury
where she was born closed down & the farm changed hands. Jasmin's
fate due to her age & breed was certain slaughter. Nigel found
& rented a suitable field for Jasmin & devoted his time to
her care. Over the years Jasmin's herd has increased against a backdrop
of farming disasters such as B.S.E. & Foot & Mouth .
Sanctuary - The animals not born into
Jasmin's herd were liberated from inhuman conditions. Two Jersey heifers,
now strong & healthy 6-year-olds, were rescued by Nigel from an
8 ft square shed where they were being kept without food or daylight.
Their bloated stomachs & bow-backs, due to malnutrition &
neglect, soon healed once they were allowed to graze in wildflower
meadows. The two 9 year-old bull calves born to the herd are quite
unique as very few bulls are allowed to live past their third year.
Dedicated to Holistic Land & Animal Management The
protection of this Herd is a cultural project aiming to keep alive
respect for the cow, & traditional arts & crafts of hand
milking, hedge laying & organic hay making - 3 arts of cow care.
'Family herd' means keeping the mothers, grandmothers & all the
offspring together for life. |
|
Permanent
Sanctuary Needed -The herd lives in a rented
field. The Appeal has been designed to raise the money to buy 40 acres
of land
as a permanent base for the herd &
to establish species-rich wildflower meadows, food bearing hedgerows
& a small on-site visitor centre to provide education & research.
The herd would then be self-sufficient - 25
acres will provide all the grazing needs & the other 15 will produce
enough to maintain the herd through winter & provide income from
hay sales. The Heritage Centre will demonstrate to school parties
& others the forgotten techniques of cow preservation & the
arts & crafts resulting from such care. The
Sacred Arts Trust believes illnesses like BSE are the result of
mismanagement, mass production & wholesale abuse. It has chosen
to support this herd of cows to helpto restore the balance between
humans & animals. As Nigel cannot & does not want to compete
with modern farming methods, his project requires charitable support.
You can help by donating from this page with your credit or debit
card, & help restore the balance between humans & animals.
The Sacred Arts Trust, a registered charity supports theIsle of AvaIon
Appeal so that Jasmin's herd may find the safety & security to
prosper while providing a cultural service. |
|
Nigel Shephard
has kept a non-commercial herd of jersey cows in the West Country
for the past ten years. He is a registered small-holder & committed
vegetarian & follows a non-slaughter policy with the animals in
his care. He sseeks to demonstrate how cow's milk can form part of
a wholesome vegetarian diet & with a little creativity an abundant
variety of dairy products may be produced without exploiting the cow.
The production of organic hay is foremost in rearing healthy, contented
animals, but a once essential way of rural life has now been largely
replaced by the less labour intensive & cheaper production of
silage, an inferior cattle-feed to hay. It is this art of haymaking
which Nigelseeks to keep alive. Feeding animals on cheaply produced
food is a false economy as the animals develop weak immunity &
suffer from many ailments. Nigel spends very little on vets' bills
as his animals are well and healthy.
He feels its is encumbent upon us all to look after the cow, and the
earth, for in such action is the root of our fortuneand our life.
Milking the cows each day by hand Nigel distributes his milk throughout
the local area by bicycle. Having spent the last ten years maintaining
the herd on a nomadic basis moving from rented field to rented field
according to season. |
