More than 20 turkeys have been spared ending up as Christmas dinner thanks to the efforts of animal-lover Amey Evans.

Last year Amey, owner of Happy Pants Ranch animal centre in Rainham, hit the headlines when she went on a rescue mission to save 15 turkeys from the dinner table – and this year she’s hoping to save even more.

After putting an appeal out on Facebook, she took deliveries of 23 turkeys and hopes to save more after inviting like-minded sympathisers to sponsor a bird for Christmas.

Amey, 33, said:“It just means they cover the fee I get paid. They get to name the turkey and get a thank you card.

“The response was overwhelming; I’ve had voicemails saying they wanted to sponsor a turkey. I didn’t expect that many people – but there seems to be a lot of people trying to save turkeys.

“It seems to be more popular to buy a turkey to be in the back garden.”

Sponsors can pay £40 to sponsor a bronze stag turkey, £30 for a bronze hen, or £20 for a white turkey. This will cover the initial cost of buying the birds, while Amey will cover the costs of feeding them and keeping them on her farm.

Since last year, she has moved to larger premises in Matts Hill Road, Rainham, in order to accommodate a burgeoning menagerie.

Amey now has more than 70 chickens, turkeys and ducks, nine pigs – including pet pig Teddy, 22 cats, five guinea pigs, two tortoises, two ferrets, two dogs and one rabbit. She said: “It’s difficult to say no because people think that they can threaten an animal with slaughter.

“They wouldn’t say that if it was a cat or a dog, but if it’s a livestock animal they say ‘we don’t really want to slaughter it but if no one can take it...’

“I just can’t bear hearing that.”

Vegan Amey said she was hoping her efforts will inspire others.

She said: “Just because society has told us it’s OK to eat one animal but not another, doesn’t make it right for me.

“Eating a dog is the same as a pig to me but most people would never dream of eating a dog.

“People don’t realise these livestock animals do have character and personality.

"The turkeys especially are wonderful – they love a cuddle. They love to wander in the house and have a look at things. They’re just lovely creatures. They’re just massively misunderstood.

“Hopefully through doing this we can save some lives and spread the word. Even if I save one life, that’s not pointless. Good news travels fast. I can put things out there and people that want to share it will share it.

“People see our turkeys and say ‘I don’t know that I want to eat turkey now’.

"Animal welfare is really important, but I don’t put too much awful stuff on Facebook, because it can switch people off. I prefer showing people how amazing animals can be.”