Animal adoptions at The Walled Garden
This new offering gives you the chance to make a real difference in the lives of our animals, and build a closer bond with the furry and scaly residents we care for here at The Walled Garden.
We are delighted to showcase the incredible animals that call The Walled Garden their home. From our charming Pygmy goats and adorable rabbits to our playful guinea pigs, ferrets, and even our exotic lizards, there is something for every animal lover.
Your adoption fee helps contribute towards the support of our animal care team, the animals, their enclosures, feed, and cleaning materials. This in-turn enriches the experience of our animals, our visitors, and our EMA students, who complete their studies and on-site work experience right here with our animals.
For a £45 adoption fee (covering a 12 month period) – you will receive:
- A personalised quarterly letter from your adopted animal, plus a birthday and Christmas card
- A beautifully presented certificate of adoption
- A VIP meet and greet with your animal(s) during the 12-month adoption period
- Your name listed on the Animal Adoptions page of our website and listed on-site by the animal pens (if you wish)
- A season ticket which allows unlimited entry to the gardens (for one adult) for the 12 months of adoption
Animals available for adoption are:
- Pygmy Goats (x4)
- KuneKune Pigs (x2)
- Rabbits (as a group)
- Guinea Pigs (as a group)
- Ferrets (as a group)
- Bearded Dragons
Please browse our animal profiles below to learn more about each resident and see which is the right choice for you
Woody & Smudge
Our rabbits have been living together for two years now and have become best buds. Woody, is a 2-year-old boy and arrived with us from Angels Rabbit Rescue and Smudge is a 4-year-old girl.
You’ll often find them digging around their patch, if they aren’t eating on carrots or their favourite snack – apple branches!
They absolutely love watching out visitors here at The Walled Garden, but be careful with your fingers, or they’ll think you’re offering them a carrot.
Guinea Pigs (as a group)
This little herd are a popular bunch. They are all approximately 3-years-old and have some tasty names!
Rolo, Crunch, Cookie, Biscoff, Caramel and Cream absolutely love playing in their tunnels, and if they see someone arrive with some grass to eat, they’ll start to squeak excitedly, but their favourite foods are carrots and herbs! You’ll know which one is Rolo as he often gets comments about his really fluffy fur. He gets the most haircuts of them all which always draws attention! Crunch is also easy to spot – as he is a teddy breed, her coat looks just like a cosy fleecy teddy bear and always needs to be taken care of.
Ferrets (as a group)
This group of ferrets really mean business! They have an age range of 1 through to 9 years old!
Lightning and Thunder are the mums of the group. Tornado, Hurricane, Rain, Mist, Snowy and Sunny are our 1-year-old babies. Most of the group have been bred on-site here in Moreton!
The ferrets are a really playful bunch. They love playing with their tunnels and boxes but can get a bit carried away. Once, a brand-new ball pit lasted just over an hour before it was destroyed! You’ll often see them munching away on their ferret biscuits or maybe some meat as a treat.
Bearded Dragons (as a pair)
We have two Bearded Dragons here at The Walled Garden. Mushu and Sisu are just one year old, so still very young. They love their bath times but not as much as they love basking under their heat lamp. They spend a lot of their time sat in the warm as they watch Animal Care Technician Chrissy and the EMA students hard at work in the bug shed with the other insects and reptiles!
Their favourite foods are locusts and salad – but they’ll eat whatever food is on offer if they are offered it. It’s easy to spot these two are excited as they’ll nod their heads as soon as they see something they like!
KuneKune Pigs
The pigs are our newest additions, arriving in March 2025. These lovely ladies have settled in well and love snuffling around their pen! Named by a member of the public, Carrot and Swede are quickly becoming popular with visitors, and Disney fans might recognise Swede as having a similar appearance to Moana’s pet pig Pua!
Only a few months old, Carrot, will seek out a nice dip in the ground and settle in for a relaxing sunbathe. That is, until she spots Chrissy coming and she will grunt away in happiness!
Swede is Carrot’s sister. She’s probably the boss of the pair and always wants to be the first to get a back scratch if anyone is offering! When you’re visiting, you’ll mostly see her sniffing around and exploring their enclosure while her sister sunbathes.
Pronounced KOO-nee KOO-nee, these are a small, hairy breed of domestic pig closely associated with the Māori, a diverse group of indigenous peoples from mainland New Zealand. In the Māori language, kunekune means “fat and round”!
The pigs are available for adoption individually.
Pygmy Goats
Our Pygmy Goats have been a very welcome and entertaining part of our animal family at the Walled Garden. Chrissy has worked really hard to get them settled in and familiar with their surroundings.
They love playing games, especially hide-and-seek with Chrissy. This is a really playful herd who all have their own personalities to love. Our goats love to eat goat food and lots of hay, but they also enjoy Hazel apple branches, Christmas trees and brambles.
Roo
Roo is two years old and is the smallest of our group of goats and her twin sister Bounty is also a part of the herd. Chrissy often calls her, her Little Princess as she was the first one to bond and absolutely loves a cuddle. She is always the first one to greet you when you arrive at the goat pen and was the first to train on the lead!
Bounty
Bounty is Roo’s twin, but she’s a complete opposite in personality! She can be quite bossy and has been known to be the most stubborn one of the herd. Bounty is possibly one of the wariest of people, but she’s happy if she can sit at the top of the ramp in the pen, watching the visitors go by.
Willow
Willow is one of the quietest goats of the herd, but she always joins in with the running games. She is quite shy, but we wouldn’t have her any other way! She can get jealous very easily! If she ever spots Chrissy giving another goat a cuddle, then Willow will be right there trying to nuzzle her way in! Willow is yet to have a kid, but there’s plenty of time for that!
Babybel
Babybel is a 3 year old girl who loves running around her pen. She can be quite shy and often wary of new faces. But once she gets to know you, she’s as happy as can be. She’s not a fan of trying new things, but she trusts Chrissy and Daisy who always encourages her!
Terms & further details:
Your £45 fee commits to ONE year of adoption from date of payment. There is no fixed contract beyond this time. You are welcome to renew after 12 months, or end your adoption of the animal.
Your adoption fee does not grant you ownership of the animal.
The name of the adopter is restricted to one individual or a group name (e.g. Jane Smith or The Smith Family, The Smith Sisters).
Your VIP meets will be arranged in coordination with our events team and must take place at weekends (when students are not on site). Young children must be accompanied by a parent or carer.
Payments are non-refundable after 7 days, and we reserve the right to cancel your adoption at our discretion.
Ready to adopt?
Adopting is easy. Fill out the form below and a member of our team will be in touch! (Note: Filling in this form is not an agreement to adopt, and is just an initial enquiry. We look forward to hearing from you!)
Animal License no. 9101 – Dorset Council, Section 13, Animal Welfare Act 2006. Animal Welfare (licensing of activities involving animals) (England) Regulations 2018. License held by Chrissy Rolfe.