Farmhouse Animal & Nature Sanctuary Purchases Tractor with Grant Dollars

Farmhouse Animal & Nature Sanctuary, a nonprofit exotic, domestic and farm animal sanctuary, was awarded a $22,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Funding for the grant was provided by the Robert Parker Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

The grant enabled FANS to purchase a used tractor/backhoe/loader to help lighten the workload at the sanctuary. The tractor will enable volunteers to care for the organization’s rescued animals more efficiently and affordably.

As a sanctuary for rescued farm animals and other types of alternative pets, FANS sits on six acres of property that includes fenced-in pastures, paddocks, and specially-designed habitats. Caring for their 136 rescued animals is the priority, and that task involves more than filling food bowls and scheduling vet appointments. Maintaining the farm property is essential to the health, safety, and well-being of each animal.

Hurricane Ian heightened this need by destroying the majority of the sanctuary’s perimeter fence and ripping out 35+ trees on the property, leaving the chores to be done by hand or with rented equipment, which is time consuming or prohibitively expensive. That restricts how many animals the sanctuary can take in.

The solution, FANS purchase of a used tractor, will allow the group to accomplish essential tasks faster and save money. Ongoing challenges related to animal safety and well-being can be solved with this single purchase.

See this story, as it originally appeared in "Pet Bites Newsletter," here.