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Honor Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy: Send Her Farmed Animals to Sanctuary

Honor Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy: Send Her Farmed Animals to Sanctuary

This alert is no longer active, but here for reference. Animals still need your help.

The passing of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, has led many to pay tribute to the U.K.'s longest-serving monarch. Throughout her 70-year reign, the Queen was known for her affection for many types of animals, her corgis often appearing by Her Majesty's side. To honor the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II and leave an everlasting contribution in the lives of many animals, we are offering both sincere condolences and asking King Charles III to transition the late Queen's royal farm into a sanctuary where her farmed animals could live full, long lives or send these animals to sanctuary.

The Windsor Dairy farm, originally designed by Prince Albert, is home to nearly 200 Jersey cows whose milk, in part, is sold to produce Windsor Castle ice cream. The late Queen's Royal Estate also includes, according to Dairy Herd Management, a Sussex herd of cows raised for meat, 140 breeding pigs, and over 1,000 hens on 2,000 acres of grassland that feeds the animals on the farm. The Windsor Farm Shop sells the flesh of animals who lived on the royal estate before their untimely slaughter. With promoting locally made goods in mind, the Windsor Farm Shop could continue to sell fresh fruits and vegetables, offer more animal-friendly products, and even consider providing dairy-free ice cream to locals and tourists alike!

With an abundance of land and resources, the late Queen's estate could be converted into a place of sanctuary where her cows, pigs, and hens could live long, natural lives. A famed animal sanctuary would create a statement for compassion around the world honoring both the sentience of animals and Queen Elizabeth's affection for animals. The U.K. is also home to various sanctuaries that have established programs to provide refuge for farmed animals in need; resources could be made available to the Royal Family should they decide sending their animals to sanctuary would be the best choice possible.

In her seven decades on the throne, Queen Elizabeth conducted important work with her parliament to improve the lives of animals, ushering in the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022, recognizing animal sentience in law for the first time. Her Majesty was a devoted patron of the Royal Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals the U.K. and Australia. In 2019, the Queen decided she would no longer purchase clothing made with animal fur, opting for faux fur fashions, sending a powerful message of compassion to consumers. During her tenure on the throne, Queen Elizabeth issued her Royal Assent to ban cruel animal practices like fur farming, the use of wild animals in circuses, and dogs in hunting practices.

As King Charles III assumes his position on the throne, he has the opportunity to make waves of change for thousands of farmed animals on the Royal Estates, and those on factory farms throughout the nation. The King has spoken on the climate crisis extensively and has encouraged the public to take measures to reduce the collective carbon footprint. In a 2021 interview, King Charles said that for years, he has made the conscious effort to leave animal flesh off his plate two days a week and avoids dairy products once a week to “reduce his impact on the environment.”

In a time of mourning, it's important to look back over the late Queen's record of adapting to and encouraging positive change across social, animal welfare, and environmental fronts. As the world looks to further memorialize a monarch who saw 70 years of progression, a move to further cement her legacy in animal protection efforts could come at the compassionate hands of transitioning the royal farms into — or sending the animals housed there to — sanctuary.

 

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