A Little World With No More Worries

It all started with a pig. In 2021, a Gloucester Old Spot named Mustard changed the course of Hayley Prescott's life forever.

A couple had bought Mustard and his brother Peppa as pet piglets, but the couple's marriage was breaking down and the now fully-grown pigs were at risk of being sent to slaughter unless a new home could be found.

Hayley, who had just sold her home to move somewhere smaller, bought the plot of land that is now home to the sanctuary so that the pigs could be sent there. But they were transported by people with no experience with pigs, who sent them on a hot day, confined in a small trailer. Peppa died in transit.

She fought to keep Mustard alive and he soon started to thrive in his new environment. But the land was too big for just one pig.

What began with the rescue of one animal would grow into something far bigger than Hayley could ever have imagined: Hakuna Matata Animal Trust, a sanctuary whose name means "no more worries" in Swahili.

It's a place where animals who had known fear, pain, neglect or abandonment could finally feel safe.

Hakuna Matata has helped 457 animals to date, rescuing, rehabilitating and, where possible, finding new homes for them. The sanctuary is now home to sheep, pigs, rabbits, cats, guinea pigs, alpacas and birds, each with their own story, their own personality and, often, their own reasons for finding it difficult to trust.

Some of the animals come because their owners can no longer care for them, sometimes because they are fighting chronic or terminal illnesses or losing their home. Others have suffered terrible abuse, the kind that makes you question humanity.

Elderly sheep Thelma and Louise arrived having known little but fear throughout their lives. Yet, after two years at Hakuna Matata, they are learning to trust.

For the first time, they are discovering that a human approaching them doesn't necessarily mean something bad is about to happen. For a sanctuary built on giving animals no more worries, moments like these are everything.

Hakuna Matata isn't simply an animal sanctuary. It is a place that makes people's lives better, too.

It works with individuals referred through social prescribing, helping people who have struggled to reconnect with society. It also welcomes children completing their Duke of Edinburgh awards, home-schooled children and adults with learning disabilities.

Its volunteers come from hugely diverse backgrounds. Some live with chronic health conditions, severe anxiety or learning disabilities.

Yet once they step through the gates, they have something in common. They are there for the animals. And somehow, the animals end up helping them, too.

Hayley has watched volunteers arrive full of anxiety and uncertainty and gradually become more confident, form friendships and feel completely at ease in an environment where there is no judgement.

"Watching what my volunteers get out of being around the animals and watching them change is just the most incredible feeling," she says. "I'm so proud of them."

This year has tested Hakuna Matata like never before. In January, the sanctuary lost Bunny, a lamb Hayley and her team had fought desperately to save.

Hayley wrote a book in her memory, Some Bunny Who Stole Our Hearts, ensuring that the little lamb would never be forgotten.

Then came another challenge. An exceptionally long heatwave swept across the region, drying out the sanctuary's grass and leaving the animals with virtually no grazing. Feed bills soared.

Hakuna Matata is still a relatively new charity and has not yet had the opportunity to build substantial reserves or secure consistent funding. Suddenly, the money they had painstakingly raised was disappearing simply to keep their residents fed.

The sanctuary found itself facing the frightening possibility that it might not be able to continue. Then came a lifeline. Hakuna Matata appeared on BBC Spotlight, bringing a wave of donations and giving the sanctuary enough breathing space to avoid immediate closure.

But the attention eventually quietened. And now, once again, the sanctuary desperately needs help. "I just want to live in a world where there is peace and kindness to all," Hayley says. "I have created my own mini world right here where that exists."

Hakuna Matata Animal Trust is a small charity, where people are working tirelessly, often without a break. Behind Hakuna Matata is a group of people who care deeply, and a sanctuary full of animals who depend upon them.

These people answer the desperate calls, about problems that range from sheep being stuck to injured cats needing medical attention and all kinds in between. They get up in the night to rescue an animal in need. They spend their days mucking out, feeding, cleaning, caring, comforting and doing whatever it takes to keep vulnerable animals alive.

A regular monthly donation, however small, could help provide the security this sanctuary desperately needs, helping to pay for food, veterinary care and the everyday costs of keeping its doors open.

Hayley wants Thelma and Louise to have the rest of their lives knowing what kindness feels like. She wants animals like Bunny to have been given every possible chance. She wants frightened animals to discover that humans can be trusted.

She wants children to learn compassion, adults to regain confidence and volunteers to find friendship and purpose.

Without Hakuna Matata, there would be no sanctuary quite like it in the area. The impact of its closure would reach far beyond the animals. It would be felt by every person who has found comfort, confidence, friendship or belonging behind those gates.

www.hakunamatatarescue.org

Registered Charity No: 1203119

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