Copyright hellomagazine
The Princess of Wales's sister, Pippa Matthews and her husband, James Matthews, have been praised for making a "welfare-conscious" change at their £1.5million Bucklebury Farm in Berkshire. The couple's 72-acre property, which includes a deer park and children's play areas, has ceased all petting sessions for its rabbits, as well as guinea pigs and young goats. It comes after The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund (RAWF) contacted 573 farms to request greater protection for animals, with Bucklebury Farm the first to take action immediately. The farm park is now working with the charity to phase out "pat-a-pet sessions" and it has invested in new housing for its rabbits. In an Instagram post, RAWF stated: "Earlier this year, we launched our Don’t Bug Bunnies campaign to highlight the issues of Pat a Pet sessions & poor living conditions at Farm Parks. Farm parks might look like fun family days out but behind the scenes, many animals, especially rabbits and guinea pigs, are suffering and are often kept in tiny hutches. We're excited to reveal that we’ve been working with @bucklebury.farm to revamp their rabbit area to phase out pat-a-pet sessions and create a more welfare-conscious experience." It added: "They have invested in spacious, enriched housing for their rabbits using our guidelines and just look at how amazing it is. We're also launching the new Farm Park Welfare Standards with them and together we will educate other farm parks and rabbit owners." Pippa, 42, and James, 50, purchased the farm for £1.5 million in 2020, moving their three young children into a £15 million 32-room Georgian property nearby in 2022, from their Chelsea townhouse in London. The petting zoo, under its previous ownership, was a particular favourite of Pippa's nephew, Prince George, now 12, who visited the farm as a toddler. Earlier this year, it was revealed that the couple had been given the green light to set up a nursery on the estate changing the use of an existing log cabin to "allow a flexible use of space for farm workers dwelling, office space, meeting room, workshop, studio and nursery". The council granted permission adding that their proposal "would deliver strong social benefits in that it would provide additional early year places where there is a shortage of places available". While Pippa was a regular on the social scene with her sister, Kate, during their twenties, nowadays she keeps a low-profile in Berkshire. Residing close to her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, at Bucklebury Manor, and younger brother, James Middleton, and his wife, Alizee, Pippa earned her postgraduate master's degree in Physical Education, Sport and Physical Literacy from University of Wales Trinity Saint David in 2022. She also released a book, Celebrate, with tips for entertaining and party planning in 2012, and also penned a column for Waitrose Kitchen magazine.
