An animal rights activist, who followed her dream of opening an animal sanctuary on Skye, has reflected on the rescue mission of a cow that aided her vision.
Earlier this year, Lynn Jolly opened Lotus Heart Sanctuary in Dunvegan.
The vegan sanctuary spans 76 acres of croft land and is currently home to 20 animals.
Cow rescue mission
Lynn captured the attention of the media around five years ago when she campaigned, and eventually saved, a two-year-old dairy bull from slaughter.
The bull, named Prince, was saved from Bridge of Weir Farm in Renfrewshire.
Her experience spurred her on to create her dream vegan animal sanctuary.
Lynn said: “The story has helped my project to open a vegan animal sanctuary.
“I remember at the time, the rescue mission for Prince was being covered across the broadcasters and newspapers.
“At the time, the awareness about veganism was low compared to now.
“The story certainly pushed my idea to create a vegan animal sanctuary.”
Skye was always my number one choice.”
Lynn Jolly
When looking for land to create her sanctuary, Lynn has said nowhere topped the Misty Isle.
She added: “I looked all over Scotland for land.
“When I used to visit Skye and Highlands for holidays, there was a sense of calm.
“Skye was always my number one choice for the animal sanctuary.”
Life on the Skye animal sanctuary
Now seven years old, Prince proudly calls the Skye animal sanctuary home.
The bull is one of a number of animals on the croft, including a ewe called Tara who believes she is a cow.
After being abandoned by her parents in 2019, Tara was raised alongside Bodhi, a young cow who had also been abandoned.
The two were inseparable, however, tragedy struck last year when Bodhi died aged just nine months old.
Lynn explained: “She was rejected by her mother so Tara was brought up with cow Bodhi.
“You couldn’t separate them for around nine months.
“As she got older, it was revealed that she wasn’t interested in being among sheep.
“She just wants to run with the cows.
“It is funny and eye-opening.”
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