Under fire Doncaster animal sanctuary closes down again after fresh social media war of words

An under fire Doncaster animal sanctuary has closed down again after becoming embroiled in a fresh war of words on social media.
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The Rooster Farm and Rescue, which is based in Bentley, announced it was shutting for ‘the forseeable future’ in a brief Facebook post.

The sanctuary closed its doors earlier this year after a bitter war of words on social media with opponents who made a number of allegations about the farm’s owners.

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It later reversed its decision and re-opened, but the farm has now deleted all its social media accounts, while owners Aaron Mcintyre and Jodie Kincaid have both suspended their personal Facebook accounts.

Aaron McIntyre and Jodie Kincaid, who run Doncaster's Rooster Farm and Rescue.Aaron McIntyre and Jodie Kincaid, who run Doncaster's Rooster Farm and Rescue.
Aaron McIntyre and Jodie Kincaid, who run Doncaster's Rooster Farm and Rescue.

A post on the farm’s Facebook page, which has since been deleted, said: “Good morning all, Just a quick post to let you know we are shut until the foreseeable future.”

But opponents have repeatedly accused the couple of animal neglect – an allegation vigourously denied by the pair, claiming they are victims of a ‘witch hunt.’

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The Free Press has seen a number of messages purported to be from the farm’s owners with threats and intimidation towards its critics, telling one: “I’m not one to be f***** with.”

Opponents say they have reported the farm to South Yorkshire Police and the RSPCA after receving abuse.

In an email in response, Mr McIntyre, who has also used the surnames Kincaid and Scott in the past, said: “None of the allegations are true.

“We shut because we had threats to our house and burn us out.

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"We had strangers turning up at all hours of the day shouting and throwing stuff at our home.

"The police havent been here or RSPCA and we had animal welfare down couple weeks ago with no problems.

"We haven’t got rid of social media we have simply deactivated it while the solicitors are involved.

"At the end of the day when you have a group of people starting a witch hunt there comes a time where enough is enough.

"For the safety of us, we have had to shut for now we havent deleted we have deactivated until we feel it's safe to open again.”

We have contacted both the RSPCA and SYP for comment.

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