A sanctuary for rescued pigs on the outskirts of Huddersfield has appealed for urgent help due to its somewhat ramshackle main shed virtually falling down.

Pigs in the Wood at Scissett provides a sanctuary for rescued pigs and goats and desperately needs to build a new wooden shelter before next winter.

Their general costs are also spiralling and it’s now around £40,000 a year to run the sanctuary with vet bills alone about £1,000 a month.

Jac Haggata, who co-founded the sanctuary in 2014, said the muddy conditions in the wood are taking their toll on the pigs’ health but a new shelter costing around £30,000 would help to solve the problems.

She said: “At the moment all we really have is a shack that’s virtually falling down so we have a fundraiser going called Help! Our House Is Falling Down.

“We’ve had a bad run with the pigs’ health over the last year due to arthritis among the older pigs and several others suffering problems with their trotters due to the constant wet weather.

“If we can get the shelter sorted with a concrete floor and good drainage then the pigs can be out of the mud and on dry hardstanding which will keep them away from the wet weather.’’

Jac added: “All our running costs have gone up, including wood we need for fences and pens, along with food.’’

One of the sanctuary’s major fundraisers is a music festival there on Saturday, July 18, which is being organised by Huddersfield musician Leo Brazil (below) who will be performing and organising other musicians and comedians to take part. There will also be food stalls and a bar.

Pigs In The Wood is based in 10 acres of woodland on Wakefield Road and is home to 26 pigs and 10 piglets, seven goats and a cockerel called Rupert, all cared for by a team of volunteers and more volunteers are always needed.

Many are rescue animals such as Mabel who came from a breeder in Hertfordshire who had no use for her but was unable to sell her without her pedigree papers. She came to Pigs In The Wood with her piglets Jingle and Belle.

Arthur was rescued from a farm where he was kept in the back of a trailer alone.

And then there is Harry Trotter who was given away by a farmer as he was considered the runt of the litter.

People can adopt an animal for £25 a year which means they can also visit their pig four times a year.

There is an Adopt page on the website with photos of each animal and their history.

A rota of volunteers care for the pigs, feeding them each morning and evening, cleaning up – some even need a wash – replacing bedding and giving the animals attention. Each shift is at least three hours.

People can visit the sanctuary with guided tours running every Saturday or Sunday and people who go on them can then wander around the site, meet the pigs and have a drink and piece of cake in its vegan cafe.

For more information go to https://www.pigsinthewood.com/visits-events The website also has details of how people can donate food to the sanctuary.

The pigs like pasta, watermelon, carrots, pumpkin, peppers, tomatoes, spinach and other leafy greens, apples and other fruits, bananas, asparagus, lettuce, cucumber, butternut squash, courgette and marrows but all need to come direct from a supermarket.

To donate towards the new shelter on GoFundMe go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-our-house-is-falling-down

If you’d like to donate towards the pigs’ vet bills on JustGiving you can do so by clicking here.

Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.