About Us
Who we are
Hollyview is an animal sanctuary that gained Charitable status in 2016. Claire has owned Hollyview – a 20-acre site - for over 25 years.
Claire has always been around animals, having had a job as an animal handler for Films and TV, and worked on such programmes as My Family and Other Animals, Jack the Ripper, Blue Peter, Eastenders, Only Fools and Horses and All Creatures Great and Small.
She frequently went to horrendous places to pick up the animals for the filming and this opened her eyes to the fact that many animals lived in cramped, unclean conditions, and were often subjected to ill-treatment. She vowed to herself that this was something she wanted to be able to change.
Many people and organisations were contacting Hollyview to take in animals that were abused, no longer wanted, or needed a safe place to call home. As time went on, Claire decided to set up Hollyview as a sanctuary – a permanent home for animals that cannot find one anywhere else and we rely 100% on the donations that we receive from you.
Since our dream began, we have grown to having over 170 animals at our sanctuary and this is ever increasing. We do not single out types of animals we save, we just save who we can.
We do rehome animals where we can but often those that come to us, have come from such difficult and abused backgrounds, we simply could not rehome them into domestic life. So instead, we integrate them into our pack, and they live a free life with all the care and love they need.
What we do
We offer a permanent home to those animals in need, or in some cases, a safe haven where the animals can relax, breathe and re-set, who can then be found permanent homes. Any veterinary treatment is sought as necessary, and we obviously ensure that all the animals are neutered.
At Hollyview, animals are given more freedom than they have ever known, and unconditional love – something that most of these animals have never had.
Our day starts at 5.30am, when it's waking and feeding time at the zoo, we start with the cats and dogs as they shout the loudest.
Then onto the rabbits, tortoises, fish, birds and lastly to the stables to feed the donkeys, goats, alpacas, pony, and sheep.
After the feeding has been completed it's then onto the cleaning duties, I know it is a rock and roll life we lead!
Once all the stable animals are out for the day it’s the fun job of cleaning up the poop and turning over the bedding. Then onto the cattery where we must change the bedding, clean out all the water/ food bowls and sort out the lovely smelling cat litter trays.
At this point it is time to get us something to eat and of course a much-needed cup of tea. After a short break it is time to sort the rabbits and the tortoises - chopping the fruit and veg for the day and cleaning out the bedding. When the weather is nice, we will open up the paddock for the tortoises to stretch their legs outside.
We then move onto the sorting out of the fish and the birds to ensure they have everything they need for the day.
Once all the animals are fed, watered and clean, it’s time for any deep cleaning and to work on our improvement projects for the last couple of hours.
We then return to feed the resident cats and dogs, tuck in the geese, guinea fowl, ducks, and chickens to keep them safe from any predators, and ensure they are warm for the night.
