He’s got Canadian geese, Chinese geese, peacocks, peahen. parrot, muscovies, mallards, black Indian ducks, goats, horses, pigs, sheep, dogs… and a temperamental Barbary ape named “Sugar”.
Mr. Charles West (67), of Pool House, Adderley, near Market Drayton keeps an “animal farm’ He mixes the common or garden with the exotic — and manages to achieve peace.
He said:
“It is a hobby and I’ve always done it. I suppose the ape is the most unusual thing now and although she is very sweet with me she’s a devil with the others.
I don’t really make a study of them I just like them became they interest me. They are clever and I like to see them about.”
Mr. West has lost a lot of birds including an East African crowned crane worth £75. Most have disappeared after being released from pens.
His wife, Nansi, does all the farming nowadays. Mr West farmed in a big way in Cambridgeshire, but retired for health reasons. He then bought Pool House and the nearby Church Farm.
What would he like next for his collection?
“Well I don’t know really. There are a lot of ducks I would like of course. How about an elephant to move some of the wood about?”