Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary
Rescue. Rehabilitate. Rehome.
And provide sanctuary when there’s nowhere else to go.
Who We Are
Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary is an incorporated association dedicated to helping farm animals in need, with our charity registration currently pending.
We’re based in Toogoolawah and support animals across South East Queensland, including the greater Brisbane region. We’re a farm animal sanctuary and we rescue, rehabilitate and rehome farm animals who have been neglected, abandoned, abused or simply can’t stay where they are.
Every animal is different, so the outcome isn’t always the same. Some need veterinary care and time to recover. Some just need help finding the right new home. And some need a safe place to stay for life.
What We Do
We help farmed animals through rescue, rehabilitation, assisted ethical rehoming and sanctuary care.
Sometimes an animal comes into our care. Other times, the best outcome is to help them find a safe new home while they remain where they are. That’s why assisted ethical rehoming is such an important part of what we do; it allows us to help more animals without taking every one of them into the sanctuary.
For animals who can’t be safely or appropriately rehomed because of age, health, disability, trauma or other welfare needs, we provide long-term or lifetime sanctuary.
Our focus is simple: do what gives each animal the safest and best possible outcome.
How We Help
Rescue & Rehabilitation
We take in animals who need immediate help and provide the care, veterinary treatment and rehabilitation they need to recover.
Assisted Ethical Rehoming
Not every animal needs to come into the sanctuary. We help find safe, suitable new homes while the animal remains with their current carer where appropriate.
Lifetime Sanctuary
Some animals can’t be safely or appropriately rehomed. For them, we provide ongoing or lifetime sanctuary with care tailored to their individual needs.
Crisis & Emergency Support
We may assist where an animal is at risk because of family violence, hospitalisation or similar emergency situations.
Meet Some of the Residents
Summer
Our first rescue and the little soul who inspired Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary. At just six weeks old, Summer was terribly sick and unable to move. Watching her fight her way back to health helped shape everything this sanctuary stands for today.
Truffles
At just seven months old, Truffles survived a devastating dog attack that cost her right ear. With her future uncertain, she found safety with us and became a gentle reminder of just how much a second chance can mean.
Gandalf
After 15 years abandoned on a cattle property, Gandalf was frail, neglected and already booked on a truck to the knackery. Instead, he found safety with us and the chance to spend his remaining years surrounded by kindness.
Kevin
Kevin was meant to be a girl, as his previous owners hoped to breed turkeys. When he grew up and revealed himself to be a very handsome tom, he needed a new home. And that’s how Kevin found his way to us.
How You Can Help
There are plenty of ways to make a real difference for the animals in our care.
What Your Support Makes Possible
Every donation helps us provide safe, practical and compassionate care for farm animals who need it most.
Your support contributes to the everyday costs of rescue and sanctuary life, including:
Veterinary treatment including assessments, medications, procedures and ongoing care.
Feed and nutrition including appropriate food, supplements and special diets.
Shelter and bedding to provide safe, comfortable spaces for animals to rest and recover.
Rehabilitation including the time, care and resources animals need to regain health and confidence.
Fencing and infrastructure including secure paddocks, shelters, quarantine areas and species-appropriate facilities.
Emergency care so we can respond when an animal needs urgent assistance.
Your support also helps us build the facilities and systems needed to safely help more animals over time.
Every contribution, large or small, helps create better outcomes for the animals who come into our care..
Our Plans for the Sanctuary
Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary is still growing, and our charity registration is currently pending. Over the next two years, our focus is on building the facilities, systems and capacity needed to help more farm animals safely and sustainably.
Our Strategic Plan sets out a staged approach to growth, with welfare standards taking priority over simply increasing numbers.
We are working toward:
Better rehabilitation facilities with dedicated areas for recovery, monitoring and preparation for rehoming.
Species-specific housing designed around the needs of roosters, cows, goats, sheep and pigs.
Quarantine and intake facilities to support safe assessment, veterinary care, isolation and short-term accommodation.
Improved fencing, shelters and paddock rotation to support biosecurity, parasite management and long-term land care.
Expanded rescue capacity with the long-term goal of safely supporting up to approximately 50 animals in direct care at one time, subject to funding, staffing, species mix and welfare needs.
A purpose-built intake and assessment facility to support veterinary examination, quarantine, special-needs care, rehabilitation and animals preparing for ethical rehoming.
The goal is not to grow as quickly as possible. It is to build the sanctuary carefully so that every expansion improves what we can safely and responsibly provide.
Every new enclosure, shelter and rehabilitation space brings us closer to helping more animals without compromising the standard of care they receive.
If you’re struggling to care for a farm animal, facing an urgent change in circumstances, trying to find them a safe new home, or you’ve noticed an animal that may need help, please reach out.
We may be able to assist with:
Surrender requests when you can no longer provide appropriate care.
Assisted ethical rehoming where the animal can remain with you while we help find a suitable new home.
Animals at risk because of neglect, abandonment, unsafe conditions, violence or other welfare concerns.
Welfare concerns where you’ve noticed an animal that may be unwell, neglected, mistreated or otherwise in need of help.
Welfare assistance where advice, referrals or practical support may help improve the animal’s situation.
We assess each request individually based on the animal’s needs, urgency, available space and the type of assistance required. Please reach out. There may be a safe way forward for the animal.
Does an Animal Need Help?
There’s always something happening at Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary.
From new rescues and successful rehomings to resident updates and the ongoing work of building the sanctuary, this is where we share the stories behind the animals and the progress being made.
Explore the blog to see more of life at the sanctuary.
Latest Stories
Bailey’s Emergency Eye Surgery
A serious fight with another rooster left Bailey with a devastating eye injury and needing urgent veterinary treatment.
Thanks to fast pain relief and surgery, Bailey recovered well and adapted remarkably quickly to life with one eye.
Where Your Support Goes
We believe people should be able to see how support for Heartbeat Haven Sanctuary is being used.
Each year, we plan to publish a simple financial snapshot showing how much funding was received, how much was spent, and where that money went across areas such as veterinary care, feed, shelter, rehabilitation, infrastructure and emergency support.
The aim is to keep this clear, practical, easy to understand and transparent.
