I am in Kogarah, Sydney....
Krysanthemum, when i first read your original post i was quite upset. My first thought was , this is very close to defamation. I was surprised to see someone speak so badly about this rescue. I understand the reasons behind it- none of us would want to see a breeder posing as a rescue, however my experience has been very different.
I have been visting The Care Rescue for about a year now since i adopted two of my girls there and continue to visit on a regular basis (every month or so) to drop in my donation.
It is true that some of the pigs have been housed in small cages, ones that would not thought to be appropriate in terms of cavy cages standards. However, Bree has been laboriously building c & c cages and all but a handful of the pigs live in them now. She has also bought huge cages for the rabbits. The last time i visited, Bree was in the process of building the last few cages for the pigs that still needed them. At this point she hadn't finished because she could not find any cubes (help her out ppl, if you see some let her know!)
Although i believe strongly that pigs and rabbits should not be kept in small cages, i never thought badly of the rescue. Bree provides a good home for neglected animals. They are fed a proper diet for a guinea pig, right down to the grass hay which is so hard to find in Sydney. I'd prefer to see them in small cages than left out in the wild.
I would not believe any of the pigs to be fat. They are large because most of her pet pigs are quite old and they are boars. As she has said, they receive floor time for exercise ( i have witnessed this many times).
Bree also amazes me with her knowledge of her animals, be they her own pets or rescue pigs and rabbits. She knows which ones she can house together, which ones need special housing due to ailments and which need special individual arrangements.
It is also important to remeber that she runs a chraitable organisation. All the money she puts into the 30 plus pigs and around 10 rabbits she cares for comes from her own pocket and although there was mention of a fee for adoption, i don't recall being asked for one at all. This is quite an expense and she runs the rescue mostly on her own with some help from her mother at times.
I guess my main point is- I happened to come across this rescue and have found it to be a fantastic place. Krystanthemum, I understand why you were worried, however it may have been prudent to contact the rescue and arrange for another visit. Although it may not have been what you wanted, I think you may have made this fantastic rescue look horrible to many people. I am worried that this will put off potential adopters.
There is such a large amount of pigs and especially rabbits that need homes, please contact this rescue and talk to Bree. I am sure she would be happy for you to come and visit. In my experience i have found her to be a caring, dedicated and knowledgeable rescuer.
Thanks,
Ana
(Nikita and Odessa-Pearl say thanks Bree!)