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What started out as a collection of birds grew into 100 acres dedicated to the conservation of domestic and exotic animals. Alison Peeler, owner of Liberty Acres LLC, has two main goals for her property southwest of Snow Camp: conservation and education.
After working in banking, Peeler decided more than a year ago to dedicate all her time to the animals on her property, and began constructing her vision for Liberty Acres. Now, she spends nearly half her day chopping fruit and preparing food for the foxes, emus, lemurs, kangaroos and exotic birds that live on the property. Many of Peeler’s animals are rescues, and many are endangered species.
“Part of the reason for conservation, if they do go extinct in the wild and people are doing this kind of thing, there’s reintroduction.” Peeler said.
Exotic animal ownership laws in Alamance County are fairly relaxed, according to Peeler. This allows many people to adopt exotic pets they might not be equipped to care for. These pets often arrive at rescues like Liberty Acres underweight, parasite ridden, or with other health problems.
In order to achieve her goal of education for the property, Peeler is opening Liberty Acres to the public Saturday, Aug. 1.
Visits to the property will include educational activities for children, tours, hands-on animal experiences, gem mining, and an animal scavenger hunt. When the COVID-19 pandemic ends, Peeler hopes the property will be frequented by school groups and children's programs.
Peeler’s daughter, Allie, hopes one day to continue to grow her mother’s vision of wildlife conservation on the property.
“I want to make this place even bigger than it is now” she said.
Liberty Acres LLC, 8798 Sylvan Road, southwest of Snow Camp, opens to the public at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1. For information about hours and tours, visit https://www.libertyacres.org/.
