Florida wildlife preserve Romelia Farms struggling to stay afloat
MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. - Romelia Farms Wildlife Preserve in Brevard County may soon be forced to close. The animal sanctuary has run into challenges, and financial struggles are mounting.
The owners, Jeremy and Linda Graves, were part of the corporate world in their old life.
In 2021, they decided to throw all that away. They traded high heels for boots, the sedan for a jeep, and purchased a massive property on Merritt Island to save the 150 animals on it.
Romelia Farms is home to farm animals like goats, pigs, sheep, cows, and horses. It also has more exotic creatures like lemurs and albino wallabies. A fox, an ostrich, and many other animals also call the place home.
"This is where people come in, and they instantly feel peace, and they feel happy, and they feel connected with nature," said Lina Graves, the President of Romelia Farms Wildlife Preserve.
That might all go away, Graves says.
"Here we are, like, almost three years later, just fighting the fight, just trying to stay afloat."
So how did they get here?
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"It probably started with the hurricanes," said Romelia Farms’ Vice President Jeremy Graves. "We faced an insurmountable amount of flooding, and damage to the property, damage to the animal enclosures."
They had no idea this would only be the start of their storm.
The Graves had to ask for a deferment on their mortgage so they could pay for repairs. When they returned to repay their mortgage again, the bank doubled their interest rate.
The family says their monthly mortgage payment went from $12,000 to $21,000.
That's not the only thing costing more, though. They also pay more for feed and labor, bringing their monthly expenses from around $35,000 to $60,000.
Also, Brevard County put in a new noise ordinance that affected some of the events that used to draw money into the preserve. The Graves defaulted on their loan.
"There's always some sort of adversity that's added to the plate that has just been a tremendous challenge," said Jeremy Graves.
"It’s like, how am I going to do this?" added Lina Graves.
Romelia Farms doesn’t just do tours and weddings.
They have summer camps and host field trips, a partnership with the Girl Scouts, an aquaponics program, veterinary internships, sensory days with Surfers for Autism, and the Down Syndrome Association of Brevard County, just to name a few.
"For that to be threatened is awful," Jeremy told FOX 35.
The Graves hope someone will save the animals, just as they did three years ago. They’ve contacted members of congress, senators, and local philanthropists.
"We'll continue to fight like hell because those animals mean everything to us, and they deserve that. They deserve that out of us," the preserve’s Vice President said.
At this point, it's not just about how hard they're willing to fight. They need a miracle. However, this issue doesn’t stop with the property, as the Graves cannot just declare bankruptcy and walk away. They’ve got animals that need care, feeding, and love daily.
So the question now is, what will happen to the animals?