Real life: What it’s like to live with 250 animals!
Pam Mansfield has taken in thousands of exotic animals. She speaks to Kate Chapman about what it’s like living with all creatures great and small
Forty years ago, a man tried to return a snake in a pet shop. He threatened to throw it into a river when he was refused a refund.
That’s when Pam Mansfield stepped in. An animal lover, she couldn’t see the reptile come to any harm, so she borrowed the cash to buy the snake from him.
Since then, she has dedicated her life to caring for thousands of unwanted creatures at her home, which has become a thriving sanctuary.
Pam, 66, and her team of volunteers currently look after more than 250 animals at her Exotic Pet Refuge, including
‘We can’t take in any more bearded dragons. The electricity bill for their tanks is phenomenal!’
an alligator called George, a monkey, scorpions, wallabies, raccoons, wild cats, snakes and parrots.
She also works tirelessly to raise more than £80,000 a year to feed and care for her sanctuary residents.
‘My dad absolutely loved animals and it’s rubbed off on me,’ says Pam, who lives on the refuge’s four-acre site in the Lincolnshire fens. ‘My husband Mel was animal mad, too, which was great in one sense, but bad in another. If anything needed taking in, he would always say, “We’ll have it!”
‘The snake was the first exotic pet we had. I just remember thinking: what on earth are we going to do with it? But Mel went off to B&Q, bought some bits and pieces and converted our sideboard into a snake cage. It lived in our bedroom for a while.
‘Then, other people started to bring us animals like fox cubs, and the whole thing just snowballed. Over the years we’ve looked after thousands of creatures, but we never intended it to be like this; it was just a hobby that my husband and I shared. He passed away 13 years ago and I’ve just carried on.’
Pam initially worked as a cleaner when the couple began taking in animals, which were kept in the couple’s back garden. But as their numbers swelled, and their own son Darren was born, the family had to move somewhere with more room. Then, in 1984 the Exotic Pet
Refuge became a registered charity.
‘Looking after the animals is mostly common sense,’ says Pam, who admits to learning on the job. ‘I love all animals. There have been so many over the years, but the one
I’m particularly fond of is Stephie, a baby spider monkey, who’s two now. She comes into the house, but only because when I was rearing her, she needed feeding every hour.
‘Lots of the baby birds we rear go back to the wild, but many animals stay with us for a long time. My eagle owl Thor is 27 now. I hand-reared him from an egg; his eyes open wide when he sees me coming. He knows who I am.’
The animals in Pam’s care
come from a variety of backgrounds. Some have outlived their owners, while others are no longer wanted. One snake, which had had cigarettes stubbed out on its skin, had been mistreated.
‘People just don’t realise how long some of these animals live for,’ explains Pam. ‘A tortoise, for example, can live for 70 or 80 years.
‘In other cases, people buy animals in pairs – often two males, because they’re told they can live together. But very often they can’t, especially reptiles.
‘We’re at the point where we can’t really take any more bearded dragons now – it’s not just the space – the electricity their tanks use is phenomenal. My last electricity bill was £2,100 for just one month.’
The refuge holds an exotic animal licence and, because of its charity status, it can open to the public for six days each year.
‘Without donations, there would be no animals. We’re always trying to find different ways of raising funds. But it’s not just money we need. People can donate building materials and food, and we’re always looking for more adult volunteers.’
The Exotic Pet Refuge has a manager and five full-time volunteers, as well as other helpers. It also has two well-known patrons in naturalist and TV presenter Steve Backshall and actor Warwick Davis.
‘We’ve got seven qualified vets under our belts, too.’ smiles Pam. ‘They started off with us as 14-year-olds, not knowing what they wanted to do. Then, through coming here and learning about the animals, they realised what they wanted to be – and that, to me, is fantastic.
‘If we can inspire people to go off and do that sort of thing, then it’s really making a difference.’
To find out more about the Exotic Pet Refuge and how to support its work, visit exoticpetrefuge.org.uk