A mini pig farm owner has commented on the ‘traumatic’ theft of her goats after a stolen donkey was rescued in Buckinghamshire.
Olivia Mikhail, the owner of Kew Little Pigs in Old Amersham, has looked back on the traumatic incident last year.
In October, seven goats were snatched off the family attraction in the middle of the night.
She said: “It took a long time to accept that we were not going to get them back.
“After a while battling with how it happened, I came to the realisation that something sinister happened to them. But I had vision we get them back.
“Everything was locked up, they would have had to climb up a wall - there’s no easy way to take seven goats!
“We have CCTV but not in the goat area.”
Her biggest fear was that Ariel, Gabriel, Domino, Bacardi, Bailey, Violet and Georgia had been slaughtered for their meat.
Baby donkey Moon was found in Bucks on June 2 following a three-week viral search after she was taken from a field near Basingstoke.
READ MORE: Baby Moon joins family after being found in Bucks following theft
Moon was traced to Wooburn Moor before she was rescued during an operation by Hampshire and Thames Valley Police rural taskforces.
Olivia commented: “When I head the story with Moon I was so happy for them!
Tonight officers from @HantsPolRural travelled upto the Beaconsfield area to complete an arrest attempt with the #TVPRural Crime Taskforce for suspects involved with the theft of the baby donkey, Moon
— TVP Rural Crime Taskforce 🚜 🚔 (@TVP_RuralCrime) June 2, 2023
1 adult & 1 juvenile were arrested on suspicion of theft
See FB for details pic.twitter.com/tx3EzUPbSX
“It’s a relief people get their animals back with the help of social media. It can happen, but I’ve now realised we’re not going to get the goats back.
“It was upsetting, but we’ve put it to bed a bit.”
Now her landlord has fitted an electric gate at the entrance and there are four new cameras, including a zoom camera monitoring the pens, Olivia explained.
“Security has gone up and that should hopefully be enough to stop anyone.
“We have done more fencing to keep all the animals safe. You can’t get past the main gate after 7pm and there are 24/7 CCTV cameras.
“We’ve got three more baby goats coming, pygmy goats. They will be under constant surveillance and extra fencing and gating,” Olivia said.
Despite the extra protection, she was still “apprehensive” about security of the animals, she admitted.
She continued: “Rural crime is terrible.
“The police were quite helpful, they were checking on the site at night and so many people were out there saying they are looking for them.”
The newly arrived pygmy goats are “so cute and funny” and were helping the everyone to “move on,” Olivia said.
She welcomed families to come and see the new goats and the famous miniature pigs this summer.
Miller’s Ark, the owners of baby Moon and her mum Astra, said yesterday the pair were “having lots of cuddles” as they gradually settled back into the donkey nursery.
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