Melvin: He’s Got the Swagger Like Jagger

Many of the animals who come to Farm Sanctuary will have lifetime health issues and so, very early on, are made permanent residents. This is especially true when animals arrive older and already have special needs that, in most cases, have not been attended to until their arrival at sanctuary. And no needs are more special than those of one of our most charismatic boys: Melvin goat. 

In 2010, Farm Sanctuary learned of the plight of a recently rescued goat who’d been neglected — tied to a tire and left in a yard to “mow" the grass, all alone and lacking the most basic necessities.

A compassionate woman had driven past Melvin on multiple occasions, and one day she decided to take a closer look. Upon inspection, she came to fully realize what deplorable conditions this poor goat was living in. 

Melvin’s former “owner” showed a complete lack of concern for his well-being, neither feeding the famished goat nor offering him water. Where he was living only has grass a few months out of the year, so there was not a lot of mowing to do. Melvin was forced to endure the elements without shelter — the sweltering heat of the summer (over 100° for many months) — and he was left for weeks alone in the cold and rain. Melvin, an Angora goat, requires shearing and grooming, but his hair was matted to his body, with urine-soaked hair all over his abdomen and legs. Making matters worse, he was infested with lice. Melvin’s advocate refused to accept that this would be Melvin’s life and made persistent phone calls to local law enforcement until he was finally rescued. 

Farm Sanctuary learned about Melvin’s situation from the woman who helped save him, and we knew we could provide him with the specialized care he would need to recover and thrive. 

Farm Sanctuary senior caregivers Mike Cogliano and Kerrie Wooten introduce Melvin to his new home.

When Melvin arrived at our Northern California Shelter in Orland, CA, we immediately set to work treating his many issues. Over his first few days at sanctuary, we trimmed his urine-soaked coat, de-wormed him, and treated him for his severe lice infestation. Of course, Melvin also received fresh grass hay, water, and a warm, clean, dry stall to sleep in — and it well may have been the first time in his life that Melvin had experienced this comfort.

What was also discovered upon meeting Melvin was that he was an older goat, so to complicate what he had been through, he was also suffering from arthritis, which contributed to his swagger-like gait. Being tied and confined to such a small area really breaks down a guy — who needed exercise like any animal, to keep his joints and muscles functioning.  

Despite everything he endured due to his former “owner’s” neglect and lack of empathy for him, Melvin has never been anything but cheerful, loving, and friendly to the humanimals in his life since arriving at Farm Sanctuary.  What his former “owner” saw as just another goat we view as a priceless treasure —  someone so very special who we are so lucky to have at our Northern California Shelter. In his years with us, he has always been one of the friendliest and most outgoing goats on the farm and doesn’t know a stranger. 

Melvin with caregiver and good friend Sierra Sundseth.

In fact, Melvin loves his humanimals so much that he will often come straight to the gate when he hears them coming, stand on the outside, and stick his head through to make sure he gets the first scratches and kisses of anyone in the barn. It is also a good way to be the first to get his pain meds — goat meds come in molasses — YUM!

Melvin always makes sure to be one of the first to say hello.

Melvin lives with our domestic sheep herd and is often mistaken for a sheep with his long curly coat. He lives in this barn along with two other older goats, who all seem to prefer the pace of the more laid-back sheep herd to the more hectic nature of the goat herd. They spend their days lounging in the barn or grazing in the pasture together (at least, when there is grass to be had). Melvin loves to be around his goat and sheeple friends, and he’s always laid-back and easygoing in his interactions with everyone he lives with. He has a very kind soul. 

Melvin, front, grazing with his sheep buddies.

From the day he arrived, Melvin has always been curious, and he loves to investigate all the goings-on in the barn and pasture. Often, when the caregivers are treating one of the sheep or goats he lives with, he will come and stand right next to them, investigating what exactly is going on. He is a regular Sherlock Holmes, always trying to solve whatever mystery may be going on around him (plus, he would look absolutely perfect in a Sherlock Holmes hat and coat).

We recently discovered that Melvin is a fan of the guitar! Intern Claude Roy enjoys serenading many of the different animals on the farm. When he first took his guitar to Melvin’s barn and began playing for the sheep and goats, a few members of the herd seemed curious at first, but all slowly went back to grazing after a few songs — all except Melvin. Melvin stayed by Claude’s side, only eating the grass around him, watching and listening to him play. Since then, Claude has been regularly playing for Melvin, and Melvin always comes over and chooses to sit near him or graze near him while he plays. 

Melvin enjoying a private concert from humanimal friend Claude!

Melvin expresses his affection for his humanimal friends in many unique ways. Recently, he has started to tease and play with his caregivers by chewing on their hair! Whenever a caregiver kneels down to pet one of the sheep or goats he lives with, Melvin will come up behind them and start nibbling on the ends of their hair. Many of the caregivers are used to cowlicks from some of the cattle, but goat licks have been a new experience. We can’t help but laugh at how amazingly funny Melvin is. He is very gentle when he starts chewing on the caregiver’s hair, and he knows very well that it will result in all of the attention being directed to him — he is very smart.

Melvin enjoys many aspects of Farm Sanctuary life, but one of his favorites is shearing time. When he was rescued, he had mats all over his body, and much of his hair was covered in filth. At Farm Sanctuary, he enjoys regular haircuts and doesn’t ever have to worry about pain or infection from untrimmed mats in his hair pulling or causing urine scald on his sensitive skin. 

Melvin sporting a short buzz cut on the left and his beautiful flowing curls on the right.  Although the curls are beautiful- that short coat is clearly more comfortable. 

After his haircut is complete, he always does a full-body shake to get rid of any stray hairs that may be stuck to him, and then enjoys massages from his caregivers (we also love how it feels when Melvin gets his haircuts). 

And Melvin is a typical goat — he loves the leaves!

Another one of the things Melvin loves about life after rescue is that he never has to fear he will go hungry or thirsty again. Melvin has lost many of his teeth as he has aged, and he now receives a special soaked-pellet diet twice a day. He also gets a soft grass hay that he is able to eat whenever he chooses, along with fresh water — and even Gatorade on hot summer days to help keep him hydrated. 

Melvin with a mash mustache — or maybe mash beard. This boy loves his mash feeds! 

There is nothing we don’t love and appreciate about this amazing guy — he is king among goats, and if you ask him he would tell you he is definitely the lord of the farm.  

Please share Melvin’s story. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding about the rich emotional lives of goats. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

June Bug: A Life Worth Living

Farm Sanctuary was able to take in in a group of goats who had suffered horrific neglect on a Cornwall, CT, dairy farm before being seized in a cruelty case in January of 2015. “About 50 goats were dead when officials arrived at the farm, while the other half of the herd was taken to an animal rehabilitation facility at the York Correctional Institution in Niantic,“ NBC Connecticut reported at the time. After snows melted in the spring, another 20 were found deceased on the property.

Skinny girl June Bug arrives with the scars of her life on a neglectful farm. Ear tips missing, likely due to frostbite, and no body fat, along with swollen and painful knees from her disease CAE.

Often, we see that goat farms and other small animal production facilities (like this one and more recently the farms in Hudson Valley and Cattaraugus County) are assumed by consumers to be a humane alternative to the egregious conditions found on larger farms or on factory farms. The idea of farm-to-table/eating and buying local is a very popular right now in animal agriculture, and many of these facilities use false advertising; such was the case with the farm from which our goats were removed. “The farm philosophy is to support the local community and treat all animals with respect,” according to the farm website — and 70 out of more than 120 goats died from neglect before the seizure. Pictures of happy and loved goats on a website are a far cry from the reality of this and so many other situations like it.

June Bug looks out of the gate to say hello with friends Valerie and Amelia. Note how insanely thin our beautiful girl was when she arrived.  And the abscess, which has just recently completely healed, is on the left side of her face. 

And the fifty remaining goats turned quickly into 96 goats, since dairy goats have to have babies to produce milk. When we heard about them, we offered to take them all, quickly searching for permanent, loving homes for the survivors and their children. Our placement manager, Alicia Pell, worked round-the-clock, speaking to people from Vermont to Texas to locate appropriate places for these girls to live. We discussed our desire to rehome them all with the state agency responsible for their care, but then things got very complicated.

Sadly, the agency prevented us from bringing all the surviving goats to sanctuary; many of those it deemed healthy enough to return to the industry and others were sold at auction or sent to slaughter.

Quotes from officials in local news included these:  

“We all hoped that every one of these livestock animals could be put back into agricultural production.”

“The decision to disperse the herd in this manner was made after months of treatment and testing by our veterinarians concluded that the contagious diseases present in the majority of animals made them not suitable for agriculture or for placement that would risk disease transmission.”

“These diseases are a serious concern to the goat industry.”

What is missing in these quotes is the most obvious point: What is a serious concern to the goats are farms like these.  

“Twelve of the goats that have Caprine Arthritic Encephalitis will be sent to rescue organizations,” according to the department. “Forty-six goats with Johne’s and/or Caseous Lymphadenitis or both that and Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis were sold in a livestock auction. Two more that have the latter two diseases will be auctioned off soon.“

(Insert sarcasm here:) The good news is that the ones with disease were sold into the human food supply. (End sarcasm.) Does this sound odd to anyone else? It should not — since more than 90% of the goats we have brought in from live markets, backyard butchers, and local farm cruelty cases in the past ten years we have been CL-positive, CAE-positive, or both.  

Finally, this last quote summarizes what we and these goats were up against:

“It’s time to get them back into agricultural production because these goats are, they have no health issues right now, so it’s good to get them back into agricultural production. Somebody has a use for these goats. Put them into production; that’s the best thing for them.”

(In other words: Eating these goats is best for them.)

I am bored with these quotes — get on with the story of me!

So with no recourse, we took the goats we were allowed to take, but they came with conditions. These included that they never live with any of our other herds — they have their own space. Second, the ear tags they arrived with stay in for life. This is not something we ever do, since ear tags often tear or get infected, but we felt it was a minor concession to make in order to be allowed to bring these beautiful goats to live out their lives on our sanctuary.

So sarcasm aside, this was a very trying and emotionally exhausting case. When we were attempting to place 92 goats there was a sense of hope — that a wrong would be righted. That survivors who saw their family perish could live out life in peace. But sadly, the system doesn’t always want that and, as in this case — it often fights against it.

June Bug and fellow survivors from this case, at play at Farm Sanctuary.

Of the small herd, the eldest and sickest goat that arrived at our shelter is today’s Animal of Farm Sanctuary and her name is June Bug. June Bug arrived thinner than any goat I had ever seen and had a very large CL abscess on her face under her ear. (CL is a chronic disease that causes abscesses on the skin, organs, and lymph nodes.) She also has one of the most severe cases of CAE that we have ever seen and was struggling with leg pain. (CAE is an RNA virus, or retrovirus, whose symptoms include arthritis and weight loss. Both CL and CAE are common among rescued goats and sheep.) She often collapsed due to a combination of muscle atrophy and severe pain.

We started her on pain management and she clearly began to improve. But unlike the other goats, she did not gain as much weight, and she continued to have problems. She did well for the warmer months of the summer and even into fall but as the cold weather came, she took a turn for the worse.

What makes this all the more frustrating is that this is one of the sweetest goats you will ever meet. She looks into your eyes with pure love and kindness and wants nothing more than attention, a little petting, and an occasional strawberry.

Sadly, when she started to show more signs of disease she immediately was picked on by two of the other much stronger goats from her little family. Knowing she could not handle this for even a day, we made the decision to pull her to our Melrose hospital and treat her there.  

What we found was this is one funny gal. She learned to push the door opened with her nose, walked around with caregivers, and even realized that what she wanted possibly was located in the shelter kitchen fridge.  

June Bug and Jill Tedeschi, shelter manager, figuring out what to make for dinner. 

She also developed the funniest but smartest habit of leaning on a bale to take the weight off of her more painful front legs and just hang out — waiting for strawberries, goat treats, and her pain meds, which arrive in a syringe of sweet molasses.  

Yummy pain meds

The after-molasses lip-licking moves. 

She was much happier with the humanimals who spoiled her rotten and away from the stress caused by a few goats we will not name, but she was also a little lonely. We had just taken in a goat named Ebony who was more a hospice situation based on her health conditions when she arrived, but the two were alone and ended up being the best of friends. Neither had the desire to pick on the other, but just seemed to enjoy relaxing together like an old married couple. Ebony arrived with very damaged lungs and could not properly oxygenate so was on an inhaler three times a day and other drugs to keep her comfortable. Like June Bug, most of the time she did well but she had days when she was very sick.  

A physical therapy session for June Bug to work on her walking, supervised by pal Ebony.

Sadly, Ebony recently died of respiratory failure, and once again June Bug was on her own. She quickly started showing signs of her disease again, which is not unusual when a goat or any animal goes through the loss of a partner. Since that loss, she has been back and forth to the Cornell University Hospital for Animals: for anemia, a blood transfusion, and for multiple diagnostic tests to discover the cause of the new health issues. 

But this girl is a fighter and she is a lover of life. We tried pairing her up with some other people — goats can be a bit punkish, especially when they first meet, and she could not handle that, so why not try a 35-pound potbellied pig named Wilbur the Mole?  

Farm Sanctuary doesn’t typically rescue potbellied pigs, but we made an exception in the Mole’s case, with a two-part goal: helping a potbelly in need while also finding a pal for another pig — Mouse! Since Mouse is small and has challenges relating to the broken leg he suffered as a baby, he will never be able to join a traditional pig herd — but he will definitely need companionship! We figured a potbellied pig might be the perfect buddy, and brought the Mole home. But since Mouse is still living temporarily at Cornell, we thought we’d see whether the Mole could be a friend to June Bug!

That worked for a bit, but the Mole got a bit too rowdy for our sweet goat girl, so back to the Melrose hospital she went. Recently, she met a new friend — Mr. Daffodil, a blind turkey — and the two seem to enjoy having the company. June Bug even reaches out and gives him a little sniff now and then. He spends the day strutting around her — likely thinking he is performing for a room full of turkey hens.

Recently June Bug developed a sore on her chest, so we are padding and wrapping it — but again, this girl is not down and out, but happy, bright, and loving. We know that we will not be able to manage her pain forever and that her condition will get worse; her legs will continue to deteriorate. But for now we are loving every minute with this amazing being — this special someone who just fifteen months ago was one of 96 goats and who by just fate ended up with us rather than auctioned with so many members of her herd.  

Each of these surviving goats have struggled with illness and the lingering effects of malnutrition. But they are now enjoying the happy lives they always should have had, surrounded by their animal friends and compassionate caregivers. At Farm Sanctuary, they are loved.  And today, we are pleased to report that a measure of justice has been achieved for these incredible survivors.

The first of two defendants in the case, a co-owner of the farm where the abuse took place, has been found guilty on 10 counts of animal cruelty. These are misdemeanor charges, but they do carry possible prison time; we will know more after a sentencing hearing in June. (The court case of a second defendant and farm co-owner recently ended in a mistrial.)

Justice in the courts cannot undo the suffering of the animals affected. But we hope the case will increase awareness about the cruelties commonly faced by goats used for their milk. And June Bug, no matter how much longer she is able to live with us, will spend each day knowing that she is special, she is cherished, and she is someone!

And although so many goats were not allowed to have the life of June Bug, she and her friends were cared for and clearly given love by those who provided their daily care. We want to thank the York Correctional Institute, a women’s prison in Niantic where the state keeps animals who have been seized due to neglect. They clearly spent enough time with these goats to ensure they were not frightened, no doubt easing their path from neglect case to sanctuary.

Please share June Bug’s story. Together, we can draw attention to the rich emotional lives of farm animals like June Bug and her friends, as well as increase awareness that factory farms are not the only farms on which animals suffer. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

Dawn: Mother to All 

In the summer of 1997, we welcomed a very special calf who would go on to become a leader, protector, and surrogate mother to many Farm Sanctuary residents to come. Dawn was born into a herd of range cattle who were being raised for beef. She was just a week old at the time of her rescue and arrived malnourished and unable to walk. Dawn’s mother was too malnourished to give Dawn the nutrients she needed to be healthy — which meant that she could not keep up with the herd she relied on. With a newborn baby unable to stand, the mother alone would not have been able to fend off predators to protect her baby, and cattle who are ranged keep moving. Without the help of her rescuers, there is little doubt Dawn would not have lived long.

Once at Farm Sanctuary’s Northern California Shelter in Orland, CA, Dawn received much-needed medical treatment and all the love and affection she deserved — and she thrived! So often the conditions that lead to calves being down are easily corrected when they are given care — but with large herds that are out on pasture, individualized care is not something they receive. 

Dawn even takes on the mothering of older motherless cattle who join her herd. Here she is seen with Cocoa steer.

Dawn not only thrived herself, but down the road, she became the reason many other calves did well, too. As she grew up, she became a mother figure to other sick and orphaned calves who’d also been rescued by Farm Sanctuary. Dawn was there to help these calves — young survivors of both the beef and dairy industries — as they adapted to Farm Sanctuary life. These babies found comfort and healing in her, and she loved them unconditionally — protecting and caring for them all.

Linus and Dawn — at left, when Linus was a baby, and at right, Linus all grown up!

Originally, Dawn lived with our special-needs herd in a special pasture for our more arthritic cattle, older cattle, and incoming calves. This is where she met many of the young calves who were rescued and left without mothers — a role she clearly wanted to fill. Like any great mother, she walked a perfect line of love, playfulness, and discipline. She would run and play with the babies, but she also wasn’t afraid to put anyone who misbehaved in their place — often with a quick bump of the head she would teach the babies what was acceptable behavior and what was not. 

Dawn with one of her lifelong favorite babies, Linus, whom she still loves as much as she did when he was a baby. These two joined the main herd together. 

Dawn was eventually ready to move into our main cattle herd. She still retained her motherly traits and was often the first to welcome new cattle into the herd. She would show them the ropes, and make sure they felt loved and a part of the family. Dawn would eventually become the matriarch. She ruled the herd with grace, and was fair and kind to everyone in the herd, always making sure everyone was protected and loved.

Dawn with her boys; Linus in the front and sweet Mario standing by his side. (Photo by Senior Caregiver Kerrie Wooten.)

Dawn remained the loyal mother to many of the calves she raised, especially two boys in particular: Linus and Mario. These boys are best pals who grew up feeling more like brothers with their protective mother Dawn, and they have remained a tight family unit to this day.

All grown up and still mama’s boys — Mario, left, and Linus (who has become a beautiful dark brown boy now), right,  still stay by their mother’s side. (Photo by Kerrie Wooten.)

Meeting newcomer Susie Moo, a young girl who eventually played a huge role in Dawn’s life. 

Dawn accepted Susie Moo into the herd, but for years kept this fiery gal in her place.

Dawn ruled over our main cattle herd for many years — but as she aged, another cow was working on taking her place. Though Dawn had complete control of Susie Moo when she first arrived, as she’s aged she has attempted to challenge Dawn for her leadership role.  

Muddy from a scuffle with her nemesis. Dawn continued to lead for years until her age made it impossible for her to continue battling the younger and now stronger Susie Moo. 

Eventually, Susie Moo wore Dawn down; Dawn accepted that she was no longer the head female, and Susie clearly took over. Like many cattle who lose position, Dawn became depressed, fell behind the herd, and seemed to not be as interested in her day-to-day life. Seeing this change in Dawn, we decided to try her back with the special-needs herd. It had been a while since she’d been in this pasture, but she took to it right away. We were thrilled to find that all of the cattle in the special-needs herd remembered that Dawn had been in charge and accepted her as the matriarch of their slightly more laid-back herd. Dawn blossomed being back in her familiar role and didn’t miss a beat. 

Susie Moo, all grown up and taking over.  

Dawn loves to take care of the other cattle in the special-needs herd, and they all love her for caring for them. We often see her grooming the cattle she lives with now — especially the Jersey girls, Betsy and Honey. Dawn is constantly covered in cow-licks from being groomed by the other cows as well — since the feeling is clearly mutual. She is an amazing lady who has spent her life taking care of others, and continues to be able to do so with her special-needs family.   

Being the new matriarch of the special-needs herd, Dawn still plays the role of greeter and checks out any newcomers, including interns and visitors. Dawn is a caretaker to her cattle family, a lover of her human family, and one very special lady.

Please share Dawn’s story. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding about the deep emotional lives of these unique individuals, as well as the unfortunate truth about the beef industry. With a growing number of delicious meat-free options, it’s never been a better time to make the switch to an animal-friendly diet! 

With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

Remembering Sweety, For Whom Sanctuary Life Was Sweet But Far Too Short

Sweety adjusting to people.

Recently we said goodbye to our friend Sweety. The former dairy cow joined us at our New York Shelter only two years ago, but during her time here she touched us deeply. This amazing being is missed by everyone at the shelter, and by none more than her best friend Tricia.

The love between these two beautiful girls was incredible to behold. 

Tricia’s gentle moo was one of the first sounds to greet Sweety when she arrived at sanctuary. Unfamiliar places can be frightening for any animal, but especially so for animals like Sweety, who was blind. The simple greeting from a fellow cow must have been a great comfort to her. By the next morning, Sweety had already begun to relax. She recognized that this new home offered safety. Little did she know how much more was in store for her.

Sweety’s life began at a dairy farm in Canada. She lived in a bleak industrial building with concrete floors and was never allowed outside. Like all dairy cows, upon reaching production age, she was subjected to an exhausting cycle of impregnation, gestation, and birth. All her babies were taken from her just moments after they were born. Because male calves are of no use to a dairy, her sons were sold for veal or cheap beef. Her daughters were kept to be raised as replacements for the dairy herd, but they were not allowed to stay with their mother.

Like so many dairy cows — as shown in photos by Jo-Anne McArthur — Sweety would have received little to no individualized care. Most cows used for dairy are considered spent by the age of four. Sweety was kept in production longer, until she was eight, at which point she was scheduled to be sent to slaughter. By contrast, our rescued dairy cows live into their late twenties if healthy. 

In large industrial dairies, cows are typically considered “spent” at around four years old, at which point they are sent to slaughter. Sweety, however, was kept in production for eight years. When she began suffering from a foot infection that rendered her lame, and after giving birth to two sets of twins (considered undesirable, since the females in fraternal pairs are usually sterile), Sweety’s value to the dairy dropped considerably.

Cattle in the industry. These photos by Jo-Anne McArthur (more photos and information on her remarkable work at the linked site) show the life of the dairy cow: giving birth to a baby she clearly loves, watching the humans as they plot the removal of the calf, and the baby ending up in a wheelbarrow to go to a calf crate and away from the mother she loves. Imagine being blind and having your children removed.    

Emaciated, ailing, and depleted from her years in production, Sweety was soon scheduled for slaughter. The slaughterhouse is a horrid place for any animal, but it is especially terrifying for those who are blind. In a lucky turn, however, Sweety was saved from this fate. A good Samaritan found out about her situation and intervened, negotiating her release into safe custody as she was on her way to the slaughterhouse. When we heard Sweety’s story, we offered her a home in hopes the arrangement would benefit not only Sweety but also Tricia.

A very emaciated Sweety, still producing milk at the time of her arrival and a long way to go to be healthy and happy. 

Tricia too is blind, and she was also once a dairy cow. We welcomed her in 2008, saving her from slaughter — her farmer had decided she was too difficult to handle. At the shelter, Tricia became best friends with Linda, a cow with a hip injury. The two formed one of the closest bonds we’ve ever witnessed. After Linda passed away from cancer, Tricia was clearly at a loss. Just like us, cattle have a profound need for companionship. We were excited to consider that, by giving Sweety a new life, we might also give Tricia another chance to enjoy her own.  

Tricia and Linda before Linda was diagnosed with cancer. The two were inseparable.  

Sweety arrived at the shelter at night and stayed up to savor a feast of hay before settling into the deep bedding of her pen, a comfort she relished after a lifetime of standing and lying on concrete. From an adjacent pen, Tricia could smell Sweety immediately and was eager to be acquainted.

Still producing milk, emaciated, and not used to living outside in a barn — and unfortunately, it was below-zero temperatures — our girl Sweety had to sport a nice winter jacket to stay warm. 

The next day, we led Sweety into Tricia’s stall. Tricia was busy enjoying some hay, and it took her a moment to realize that the newcomer was beside her. As Sweety leaned in for a sniff, however, Tricia perked up and began investigating this intriguing stranger. Within moments, the two cows were gently nuzzling one another and sharing a meal. By evening, they were nestled together, preparing for their first night as roommates.

It looked like there could be a battle, but instead the two blind cows seemed so happy to be together — like they had waited their whole lives to find each other. 

It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Tricia and Sweety were soon inseparable. Through the comfort and security of each other’s companionship, both blossomed, Sweety discovering the joys of life at sanctuary and Tricia discovering them anew, fully alive for the first time since she’d lost Linda. Sweety was frightened to leave the barn at first, but Tricia led her out into the sun. For the two summers they were together, they spent most of their hours outside. They spent hours more grooming each other and were so closely bonded that we almost never saw them apart.

Tricia and Sweety spent hours in the tall grass and the sunshine — just soaking up life togehter. 

When we made the decision to bring Sweety to New York two years ago, we had her tested for a variety of diseases that are common in industrial dairy cows. Sweety tested positive for bovine leukemia virus (BLV), which was likely the cause of her blindness. Ultimately, it was also the cause of her death. This virus hits different cows at different times in their lives; Sweety’s years in the high-stress environment of a production facility compromised her immune system, causing the disease to strike sooner than it otherwise might have. 

Nonetheless, we were able to make Sweety’s final years blissful. Though she slowed down as the disease advanced, she remained comfortable and very happy right to the end. 

Tricia was so happy to have Sweety in her life — her entire demeanor changed and once again she started responding to her name, as she had when Linda was alive. 

Everyone at shelter grieved for Sweety, but no one more than Tricia. This was one of many losses for our sweet Tricia, from the babies she lost in the dairy to the passing of her beautiful love Linda, also to cancer. She was clearly distraught over this loss — coming up to Sweety’s body and then circling in agitation. We knew that Tricia could not spend more time alone, so as she mourned for her beloved friend, we sought to provide comfort. We noticed that another senior cow, Queenie, was being pestered by the young Holstein steers, who can be too playful for their elderly herdmates. 

The girls enjoying a beautiful spring day.

We also noticed that Queenie had begun lingering by Tricia’s fence and mooing to her. Honoring Queenie’s apparent choice, and hoping that, once again, friendship would help Tricia rediscover her love for life, we moved the two cows together. The move has been a success: Within a week, Tricia and Queenie were cleaning each other, spending all their time together, and loving life as a duo.  

Though Sweety’s time with us was brief, we don’t doubt for a second that she was worth saving and healing. After a lifetime of loss, fear, and pain, Sweety knew, at last, an era of happiness. For the first time, she walked outside and felt the sunshine and the breeze, ate fresh green grass, and was groomed by her best friend. Her aches were soothed. She was loved. Those experiences mattered to her. And she mattered to others, intensely. Her life mattered. Sweety’s friendship transformed Tricia, and her story moved and inspired countless people. In just a little time, she changed so many lives. Her story reminds us why it is crucial to see each animal as an individual, to honor and nurture that individual spirit for as long as he or she visits us. Every one counts. Every day counts.

At the end of her time with us, Sweety had gained a significant amount of weight, even though her body was fighting her disease. She and Tricia enjoyed every day up until the very end. 

This beautiful painting by Margaret H Parkinson commemorates the love between these two beautiful friends and captures them so perfectly.

Humanimal Jesse Armaline is a Superhero for Farm Animals

Cleans barns faster than a speeding chicken,

Lifts hay bales fueled on the power of plants,

Capable of finding delicious vegan meals wherever he goes,

Look, up at the farm!

It’s a bird!

It’s a goat!

It’s VeganMan!

For Farm Assistant Jesse Armaline, “VeganMan” is more than a moniker; it’s a code by which he lives his life, a daily reminder to do his best to serve the countless individuals whom he holds dear. A vegan since November 2014, Jesse treats each day as an opportunity to show how easy and fulfilling a vegan lifestyle can be, while sharing the stories of the animal ambassadors who inspire him every day.

Jesse getting a photo of Summer lamb after cleaning their pens!

Jesse’s Farm Sanctuary journey began in April 2012 when he started volunteering at our monthly work parties, opportunities to collaborate with like-minded individuals for a day of hard work, delicious food, and one-on-one time with Farm Sanctuary’s rescued residents. A vegetarian at the time, this experience, as well as subsequent volunteer stints at our Hoe Down and Celebration for the Turkeys events, inspired Jesse to reexamine his relationship with animals to better align his actions with his compassionate values. And after researching animal rights and receiving support from his vegan friends, he decided to go vegan in honor of these magnificent beings.

As a volunteer Jesse got close to former resident Cocoa Bean goat.

His rich relationship with the animals and humanimals of Farm Sanctuary inspired him last year to join Farm Sanctuary’s internship program.

While Jesse braved Watkins Glen, NY’s coldest winter on record, his three-month shelter intern experience further warmed his heart and allowed him to use his superpowers to make a difference for farm animals.  

Jesse (far right) and fellow interns step out of the cold for some snuggles with Violet and Maggie pigs.

With every barn he cleaned, Jesse created an optimal living environment for our rescued residents, allowing them to live with the dignity and love that they deserved. And he took every opportunity he could to get to know these beings; to understand their personalities, from the cats residing in our Shelter Office to the chickens in each barn. 

Lover of all beings at the farm- Jesse snuggling up with our “shoulder riding cat” Marley

We could not part ways with Jesse’s kind soul once his internship ended, and fortunately, we did not have to. Jesse was hired as a temporary Farm Assistant from April through the end of May, and when he returned home to Ohio he applied for a full-time position. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long to reunite with this compassionate advocate, and he joined us full-time on August 31, 2015.

Sheep pal Francis was very pleased with Jesse’s decision to return.

Jesse typically starts his days by getting breakfast at Glen Mountain Market, a local deli offering several vegan options including this humanimal’s preferred oat bars and sandwiches. 

Powered by delicious vegan food allows Jesse to get the job done!

Jesse’s shift begins at 7 a.m., when he and his teammates check their voicemail to see if there are any schedule updates they must take into account.

During the winter, which often extends beyond the actual season (We just experienced another snowfall!), they are tasked with clearing any ice that could endanger the animals and humanimals throughout the course of the day, ensuring that all they encounter remain as safe and happy as possible. Jesse carries this perspective with him every day regardless of the weather; it is important that the animals enjoy both physical and psychological security. 

Sharing some warmth with young Maggie and her mother Olive. 

Jesse is primarily responsible for cleaning barns, a labor-intensive yet rewarding task. He normally cleans the smaller barns on his own, and collaborates with his teammates on larger endeavors. While the cast of animals he encounters each day changes, Jesse’s positive, caring approach is consistent.  Jesse’s job is about much more than cleaning up after the animals; he greets his tasks mindfully, recognizing that these barns are the animals’ homes, their safe spaces. Jesse approaches each animal with compassion and respect as he cleans, connecting with each resident as an individual and doing his best to give them the care and attention they deserve. Recognizing changes in behaviors or noticing other health issues and reporting those to caregivers is a team effort and by being so close to the animals, Jesse is great at recognizing even subtle clues that they give.  

Jesse is also great at getting pictures of everyone of our resident animals and comes in on his days off to take even more.  By taking these photos and sharing their stories, Jesse brings visibility to farm animals everywhere, showing how much we can learn about animals and ourselves when we take the time to connect with them as fellow beings.  They also seem to really pose for his selfies- enjoying the photos as much as he does. 

Enjoying a moment between cleaning duties with the late, great Joey, who passed away last fall. 

Still, the nature of shelter work is not always predictable, and there are times when Jesse’s work has taken him far beyond barn and farm duties. Participating in the Hudson Valley rescue, for example, was one of Jesse’s most memorable experiences. 

Helping round up frightened sheep on the scene of last fall’s emergency rescue from a Hudson Valley backyard butcher operation.

“The experience of the rescue, from the early morning until early into the next day, was very emotional for me and something that I will never forget,” says Jesse. “But watching all the animals that we helped save and give a new life was an absolute joy.” 

Jesse (left) assists as a sheep is carried to a transport vehicle.

The lessons Jesse learned in Hudson Valley continue to shape both his work and advocacy going forward. He was similarly able to spring to action again last month and assist with our emergency rescue in Cattaraugus County.

Transporting birds from horrendous conditions on the site of the Cattaraugus County cruelty case. 

Comforting a very frightened lamb.

Jesse was proud to be a part of these emergency rescues; to watch as these once frightened individuals learned to trust and befriend their animal and humanimal counterparts. Jesse is thankful to be able to give back to these beings, and to witness the transformative power of love firsthand. Jesse spends so much time with the animals from these rescues and is a big reason why they come our of their shells.  His kind, gentle nature is what so many of these mistreated and abused animals need to allow them to trust again.

Jesse, aka VeganMan, is one of many animal superheroes who work alongside the rescued residents of Farm Sanctuary. This special humanimal is a wonderful example of the good you can do when you put compassion first. Please share Jesse’s story and help inspire others to join in pursuit of an animal-friendly life. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding about farm animals. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. .

Who wouldn’t enjoy taking time out to hang with Maggie? 

Jesse teaches us the ease and importance of living in the present moment, demonstrating the profound difference we can make in an individual’s life by respecting their unique needs and personalities. And whether he’s learning about his chicken pals’ personality traits or supporting a volunteer throughout their own journey, Jesse treats all he encounters with the utmost respect and attention. It is a pleasure to work alongside this compassionate hero, who helps us change hearts and minds about farm animals by joyfully sharing the essence of each being. Jesse puts so much heart into all he does; it’s no wonder that VeganMan’s greatest strength is the ability to create positive change through the power of love.

Big smiles from Jesse and his buddy Maybelle of The Daily Squeal.

Oh, Brother, Look at Thou!

While they now crow and posture in safety at our Southern California Shelter, Stephen and King faced potential peril in their youth. The brothers were found in a cardboard box, abandoned along with four other fancy breed roosters. 

Although we’ll never know their exact history, we can imagine based on an educated guess: Roosters increasingly find themselves in situations where they are unwanted due to their valiant, loud and often early morning cries. Municipalities that allow people to raise hens in urban settings prohibit roosters. If legally allowed, noise complaints from neighbors force roosters out of their homes.

Urban residents eager to have fresh eggs are purchasing chicks from feed stores and hatcheries at an alarming rate.  Lacking knowledge in how to raise chickens, these novices are unaware that the likelihood is high that at least some of the chicks are roosters. When purchased at feed stores and hatcheries, the chicks are either unsexed, improperly sexed on their first day of life, or the boys have been sent along in the mail as so-called packing material to provide warmth for their sisters.

Of course proper sexing of chicks at hatcheries results in the male chicks being killed via such barbaric methods of being ground up alive by a macerator or suffocated en masse along with their brothers. After their first day or so of life roosters and hens are nearly indistinguishable until they’re approximately four to six months of age and their secondary sex characteristics make their gender apparent. Should everything else be unclear, gender becomes clear quickly once a chicken starts laying eggs, around 6 months or crowing, which usually happens at approximately four to five months of age. 

When the hens start laying eggs, they have a home for at least a few years while they’re productive layers. (That being said, their egg-laying productivity sharply declines after the first few years of their possible 10-plus year lifespan.) Unlike their sisters, roosters are immediately unwanted once they start crowing. 

The backyard chicken phenomenon thus has resulted in a staggering rooster overpopulation problem throughout the country. Roosters are being abandoned in parks, forests, alongside urban and rural streets, and at municipal animal shelters and farm rescue organizations of all varieties.

Never a day goes by when we aren’t contacted about an unwanted or abandoned rooster in need. While each of their lives matter to us, we unfortunately cannot take them all. As it is, we currently care for more than 100 roosters and have them housed in every possible enclosure where they can safely live at each of our shelter locations. We work hard to assist in finding safe placement for all of them, though, whether with other rescue organizations or with private adopters via our Farm Animal Adoption Network. 

Interest in backyard chickens continues to trend upward along with searches for Polish chickens (Stephen and King’s breed) per Google Trends.

The continued popularity of the backyard chicken phenomenon ensures that the unwanted rooster problem is not going away anytime soon. Fancy breed chickens, such as the Polish variety, are particularly popular with backyard chicken enthusiasts because in addition to their laying abilities, they are also exotic and beautiful.

Luckily for Stephen and King (and their four friends) our Southern California staff was able to rush to their rescue. 

Stephen and King have lived happily for more than a year and a half at our Southern California Shelter. (Three of their brothers live at our Northern California Shelter.) 

In the safety of sanctuary, Stephen and King have progressed from confused to proud and esteemed members of our bird population. The brotherly love Stephen and King share is always apparent. The siblings never stray far from one another. King, the smaller of the two, usually leads the charge and takes position in front as scout. 

When we approach, King menaces and glowers trying to establish the boys’ dominance and dominion over us. But, we know the boys mean us no harm. Beyond all their pomp and circumstance, they are fairly docile and do not fret when picked up or petted. 

Stephen enjoyed some snuggles with his friend Rochelle Corey.

In fact, the boys often can be found perched on human shoulders enjoying the love and attention and beholding the world from a different vantage point.

King and Stephen recently perched from Kat von D for Laika magazine.

Stephen and King are fancy not only in breed but in style. These brothers boast the most elaborate head feathers at the sanctuary. While they may initially seem identical in appearance, the brothers actually look quite different. It’s easiest to tell them apart by their feathery headdresses. For ease of reference, some of us remember who is who by thinking of Steven Tyler and Don King. Stephen rooster’s head feathers are reminiscent of famed Aerosmith lead singer’s wild hair with white and blonde streaks. King rooster’s gravity-defying coiffure, on the other hand, has more prominent black feathers and is more like that of boxing promoter Don King’s well-known hairdo.

Both boys’ head feathers require some basic maintenance. However beautiful the cascading feathers, they are not nearly as functional. Without trimming the feathers cover the boys’ eyes, impairing their vision and thus affecting their behavior such that they’re much more skittish around us and other birds. We can only imagine that the boys’ occasionally lament, as do some humanimals, “Why must beauty come at such a cost?” Fortunately for Stephen and King their regular feather trimmings allow them to maintain their spectacular beauty, if not slightly more tempered, and provides them unaltered vision.

King and Stephen before we trimmed their “bangs” away from their eyes.

Aside from their elaborate and unique hairdos, Stephen and King share the unique perspective of having resided in nearly all of the aviary spaces at Acton. The boys’ tiny statures have subjected them to being picked on by larger roosters (who could just be jealous of their plumage), and then when placed in a special needs flock they have turned the table and been too rough with our infirm hens.

Luckily for Stephen and King and our special needs hens, our caregiving staff is always on the lookout for potentially dangerous interactions among our bird residents and more fortuitously there are several aviary spaces in which our bird residents can reside. Stephen and King are currently residing in a space with Madeleine turkey. She has warmly welcomed them and enjoys the company, and the boys seem to equally enjoy living with her as well. We hope this is the place where ever restless Stephen and King finally put down roots and settle in for their long, peaceful lives at the sanctuary.

Please share Stephen and King’s story. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding about the rich emotional lives of birds like them. We can make a difference for all farm animals. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

Teamwork Saves Eight Chickens! Welcome, Gerald & Friends

Last week, we welcomed eight newly rescued chickens at our Southern California Shelter! We are still getting to know these new friends, but we already know that they are each very special individuals indeed.

These lucky birds — four hens and four roosters, of the type the industry calls “broilers” — were born at a large commercial hatchery in Northern California that supplies chickens to the largest commercial producer in the state. They were being raised for meat, but avoided the unfortunate fate of their flockmates when they were selected to be part of an area field-day competition that included a “poultry judging” contest. Our friends at Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary were able to secure the chickens’ release at the conclusion of the field-day event, and contacted Farm Sanctuary for placement assistance. Of course, we gladly agreed to help these birds in need!

We set out for Harvest Home, located in Stockton, CA, to pick up the chickens and begin the next leg of their journey. For the four hens, that journey concludes at Farm Sanctuary. The four roosters have one more stop: They will soon make the trip to their new home at Wildwood Farm Sanctuary in Oregon.

Our new friends are very young — just 9 ½ weeks old — but they are already well past the age at which they would have been slaughtered had they not been held back for the field-day event. Chickens in the industry are typically killed at just six weeks of age — so young that they are still making the “peeping” sound of chicks, rather than the clucking or crowing sounds of adults.

Since they have been bred to grow extremely quickly — much bigger, much more quickly than is healthy for them — they will be need to be kept on a very strict diet for the rest of their lives. (Did you know that in the past 50 years, the amount a chicken used for meat grows each day has increased by more than 300%?) As a result of their breeding, these birds’ inclination is to eat and eat and eat, which makes them prone to a host of health issues ranging from foot and leg problems to heart failure. In fact, more than 25% of birds from this industry already have leg and joint problems by the time they’re six weeks old. By carefully managing their food intake and doing regular health screenings on them, we hope to give these birds the happiest, healthiest, and longest lives we possibly can!

Gerald rooster with his bandaged wing.

During his first health check, it was discovered that one of the birds, a large boy named Gerald, had a wounded wing. Gerald was determined to have a severely luxated elbow, the bone popping through the skin of the wing. The area around the wing is bruised and hot, and the hole in the wing infected; the injury had clearly been left untreated after it occurred.

These birds have very short wings and very large heavy bodies. They are awkward and the wings are hard to control when they are picked up, so handlers are trained to grab them up by the base of the wing, where it meets the body. This causes them pain and they often struggle — so we often see compound fractures and dislocations in this area. After a procedure (performed under sedation by our bird vet) to repair the wing, Gerald is now recovering at our Southern California Shelter and will be treated there until his next vet visit, where it will be determined if the wing can be saved. He is resting happily right now and still with his chicken family. 

We’re so happy to be part of the team that made rescue possible for these birds — and we’re excited to see them blossom as they settle in to sanctuary life, surrounded by their friends and receiving the level of individualized care that they never could have received in an industrialized setting. Unlike the approximately nine billion chickens like them who are killed for meat each year in the U.S. alone, they will be safe, loved, and respected for the individuals they are.

Please share their story. Together, we can make a difference for farm animals by raising awareness that they are each someone, not something. With your support, we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

Mr. Daffodil: Think Outside the Box

The headline only makes sense because the first time I saw Daffodil — at the site of the recent emergency rescue at a Cattaraugus County farm — he was in a box. A tack box had been turned into a makeshift turkey holding area for this emaciated, blinded turkey who, at the time, was thought to be a she. When I met Daffodil, a really sweet volunteer was attempting to save this horribly abused bird while also trying to clean the living areas of the other animals on the farm — which required an excavator to remove the feet upon feet of feces that had been allowed to accumulate in the barns. Daffodil was in the sheep and stallion barn in a box where he could not turn around — but he was too weak and sick to be able to really move around.

When he arrived at Farm Sanctuary, it was assumed that this tiny, sickly turkey was a girl — based on the paleness, the tiny frame and weight, and the name he had been given by volunteers: Princess. Within four days, this totally changed — and it all started with a strut.

From there, the first gobble — which came in response to the human sounds of glee over the strutting (I think the sound was “Wooo-hoo!! Look at you!!”) —  was a dead giveaway. I cannot tell you how amazing it is to see an animal who was barely alive just days before start to strut around like he owns the world. That is what we call a laugh/cry moment — so much emotion knowing that this boy had just turned a very important corner.  

You see, Daffodil arrived weak, pale, and terrified — and seeing the state that this turkey was in, we were unsure whether he would live through the night. You could feel every bone in his body; his keel (breastbone) and pelvic bones were so sharp and pointed, and he had no muscle, which is not normal for his breed. He could not eat on his own and refused water, although he was very dehydrated. But with tube-feeding and fluids, everything quickly changed. 

And although he cannot see, he has amazing hearing and is always listening to what is going on. He now knows the sound of his food bowl being tapped, the sound of water being lightly splashed, and the sound of his new chicken friends.  

And he is clearly a boy — check out that snood (the long skin flap over this beautiful beak — it grows when he is showing off his beauty)!

And his color is back — no more pale, sickly boy here. He is getting stronger every day.

Mr. Daffodil settling in to Farm Sanctuary life and clearly feeling much better!

He may always have a bit of a limp; it’s unclear what is causing his leg issues, but for now he gets around just fine, and medication is helping to manage his pain.

It is also likely that he will never see us, or his own reflection. So while he may not ever be able to see just how beautiful he is, I think he gets it from the reaction he is receiving at the shelter. There is big love for this tiny boy!

Hanging out with his new chicken friends!

Please share Mr. Daffodil’s story. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding for farm animals like him. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

Dan D’Eramo: Hero in Rescue & Humane Law Enforcement

It’s National Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week, and we are proud to feature Dan D’Eramo, whose path to Senior Humane Law Enforcement Officer for the Washington Humane Society in Washington, D.C. took shape at Farm Sanctuary.

“I have seen a lot of disturbing things over the years, but not much really bothers me to the point that it makes it hard to do my job,” says Dan. “On the contrary, it’s the worst stuff that keeps me going. There aren’t too many things more rewarding than rescuing an animal from a situation where humans are really at their worst, holding accountable those responsible, and seeing the animal thrive when in the hands of people who care.”

 In his current role, Dan divides his time between enforcing the District’s animal cruelty laws, investigating allegations of animal neglect and abuse, and educating the public on how they can improve their relationships with animals. And just as education plays a large role in Dan’s daily activities, his own education was extremely influential in shifting his conceptions about animals and embarking on this journey to protect them at all costs.

.

Dan enters a house on a search warrant to recover an abandoned dog.

Dan reaches out during a hoarding/unsanitary living conditions case.

Growing up, Dan was a self-proclaimed animal lover who also happened to hunt and eat meat. As many of us have experienced, Dan could not yet grasp the disconnect between these standards, and even pursued a degree in animal agriculture as a way of segueing his compassionate values with a career in the food animal industry. However, Dan’s education shocked him into the realities of what it took to produce today’s animal products, and he soon realized that he could no longer contribute to a system that caused such unnecessary harm. Shortly after going vegan in March 2004, Dan discovered Farm Sanctuary, where he’d embrace a newfound passion for animal rights and rescues. Being around like-minded individuals helped him make the changes he needed to align his actions with his values, and it was incredibly fulfilling to work towards advocating and improving conditions on the animals’ behalf.

Dan gives some love to Edward at our Orland Sanctuary

Dan joined the Farm Sanctuary team in the summer of 2005, when he worked as an intern in our Campaigns Department. The following year, he served as a summer tour assistant, and reprised this role in 2007 after he graduated. 

Although an amazing Hoe Down Volunteer, Dan seemed far less enthused handing out lunch at the Hoe Down.  (Just kidding; he did everything well.)

Afterwards, he briefly worked with our farm assistant staff before transitioning to his role as Chief Rescue and Investigations Officer, a position he held for about two years. During this time, Dan was at the forefront of many of our rescue initiatives, allowing us to help hundreds of animals attain the dignity and care they had been deprived of for so long. 

Dan oversaw a variety of cases from newborn rescued lambs to a horse named Clyde, who was left for more than 10 years in a barn that had collapsed around him.  His hooves were so overgrown they were turning back into his feet.

Above Clyde looks out of his dilapidated barn, unable to leave and living on years of his own waste.  The second picture shows the state of his feet. Clyde was a stallion and at first very frightened to leave so the bottom picture is Dan persuading him to come with us. 

However, Dan was also among those involved in some of our largest cases, such as our participation in the rescue of more than 80 pigs during the Iowa floods of 2008. 

Dan spent about a month in Iowa searching for and rescuing pigs who suffered from ailments including severe sun and chemical burns, pneumonia, horrible bone infections, emaciation and psychological issues. This rescue was one of the largest and most mentally and physically exhausting, stretching to almost 8 months from arrival in Iowa to the transport of pigs to new homes.   

Above Dan giving water to the newly rescued Nikki and her beautiful babies. Mom Nikki was emaciated, dehydrated and barely producing milk when Dan and the teams from Farm Sanctuary, IFAW and other groups found them and delivered them to safety. 

Nikki and son Chuck, still live together almost eight years later.  Note that son Chuck (left) is a bit larger than mom now! 

Many of the pigs who live with us today are from that rescue; including famous faces such as Nikki, The Doctor and Sleepy to name a few.  All are safe and thriving thanks to the work of Dan and everyone involved in that incredible rescue.

Sleepy Pig when Dan and his team found her; wedged between two trees after being washed there by flood waters.  The second photo is her on oxygen at Cornell University and the last is her now; weighing around 600 pounds and a very healthy, happy young lady.

The Doctor, right, after being rescued; suffered horrible skin burns, infections and pneumonia. 

At home on the sanctuary, Dan and The Doctor relaxing and enjoying life away from Iowa. 

The Doctor now: A handsome and beloved resident of Farm Sanctuary.

Although the rescue in Iowa was one of his more challenging experiences, Dan points to another Farm Sanctuary rescue as that which truly set the stage for his future endeavors, shaping him into the steadfast, effective advocate he is today.

That fateful rescue would take place at Red Barn Farm, a property in Canaan, NY that prided itself on selling “grass fed meat” as a more humane alternative to factory farming. As seen with our recent Cattaraugus and Hudson Valley rescues, however, these so-called farm-to-table operations generally do not keep the animals’ best interests at heart. 

A garbage-filled, dark filthy barn devoid of clean water or feed, housed the sheep, cattle and pig rescued from Red Barn Farms. 

Sadly, these descriptions are usually marketing ploys, attracting individuals who care about animals and wish to incur as little harm and suffering as possible. Red Barn Farm, for example, hosted a website depicting “happy animals” roaming on spacious green pastures, convincing customers that the animals received the utmost care. As Dan would discover, however, Red Barn Farm’s representations couldn’t be further from the truth.

Dan carrying out Jane sheep, who still lives with us today at the shelter.

When Dan arrived at the scene, he encountered nearly 70 starving sheep, cattle, guinea fowl, chickens, and a pig. All of the animals were living in manure-filled barns, without access to food, water, or basic care. The sheep especially were emaciated, plagued by external parasites, and dehydrated. Sadly, many were also pregnant, their bodies too malnourished to produce milk for their babies. Had the lambs been born at this establishment, they would have either starved to death or been removed from their mothers at a young age and slaughtered for meat. Undoubtedly, these mothers had lost children before, and all were in dim spirits as they prepared to say goodbye to the babies they so desperately longed to nurture.

Some of the sheep from the case.

We were determined that this time, these families would stay together forever. Unfortunately, this took much longer than we had hoped. Authorities downplayed the severity of the case, and we spent months working to relinquish the animals into our care. As Dan recalls, “I had no idea that the initial plea for help was going to turn into a case that itself lasted months and involved numerous trips back and forth between Watkins Glen and Canaan at the slightest hint that we were getting close to the animals being turned over. The investigation itself was truly frustrating and exposed how difficult it can be to do your job when a select few in power choose not to do theirs.”

Safe at Farm Sanctuary, the first baby born, Cliff, is greeted by members of the rescued flock; including Smudge. 

Fortunately, we were eventually cleared to remove the animals from the site, and our efforts towards helping them heal could finally begin. We were able to take the pig and 26 sheep, 14 of whom would soon give birth. As one of Dan’s first major cases, the Red Barn Farm initiative was inspiring in many ways, but helping these mothers recover while birthing and nursing their lambs made it all the more personal.  Twenty three of the sheep still live with us today.

Daniel, one of the lambs from the rescue, was named after Dan.  Mother Katrine is grazing behind him. 

Dan would spend nights sleeping in the barn so that he could assist if a sheep went into labor, and even found himself elbow deep in the delivery of a lamb who had trouble making his way into the world. He’d milk sheep when they wouldn’t nurse and source colostrum when they couldn’t lactate. Dan describes this as “one of the most intense, happy, scary, emotional experiences I ever had at the farm. It was something I accomplished alongside coworkers who meant a lot to me with animals who meant just as much.”

Dan got his fair share of training in nursing rescued lambs back to health while at Farm Sanctuary.

Dan giving a first bottle to recently rescued Freckles from yet another one of Dan’s cases Farm Sanctuary. 

Many of these animals became farm favorites, and it was extremely inspiring for Dan to watch them transform from frightened victims to affable individuals. For example, the pig, whom we named Sally, had a difficult time integrating with the other pigs, having spent so much time on her own and not knowing how to interact with others like her. It was extremely heartwarming for Dan to see her finally integrate with a herd of her own and to shine as the individual she was finally allowed to be. 

Sally pig, living the Farm Sanctuary life!

Or Clarabelle goat, who was not part of the Red Barn group, but whom the team encountered in the parking lot of a veterinarian’s office they were trying to enlist for help in that case. Clarabelle was in terrible condition when we found her; she was extremely thin and suffered from mange, overgrown hooves, laminitis and tendons so distended she could not walk. After receiving the care and love she needed to thrive, however, she regained her health and is now among our friendliest members of the sheep barn. 

Dan bonded with Norman, Nelson, and Moo steers after bringing them home from the horse rescue he used as base camp during the Red Barn case. And of course, he became strongly attached to all of the sheep from Red Barn Farm and their babies, and it was incredibly rewarding to see them overcome adversity and thrive, together.

Some of the many animals rescued by Dan who still call Farm Sanctuary home over eight years later.  Many others have been placed in loving permanent homes but a lot of Dan’s people still live with us and are loving life. 

One such being is Merrick sheep, who turns eight years old today! Merrick was rescued in utero, so he thankfully never experienced the cruelty that his mother, Denise, had once known. It is difficult to think of a day without having Merrick in our lives. Merrick was the second baby born and so quickly made friends with Cliff, the first baby.  

At the time this picture was taken we had no idea Merrick was patiently waiting to come out and with Denise being so emaciated under her wool we were shocked to find she was just weeks away from giving birth to Merrick! Happy birthday, Merrick!

His mother Denise was one of the older females, but thankfully, the two are still together. So many of the sheep from this rescue, like Denise, were terrified of people and so Merrick, like his mom is still a bit leery of humans, but oh, is he so happy with his sheeple!

Denise today: A much healthier and happy resident of the sanctuary.

Merrick all grown up and handsome!  Just like his mother!

Baby Merrick (left) with Amy and her son, Cliff. Amy was another mother rescued from the Red Barn Farm case.

It is heartbreaking to think that, had we not arrived in time, Merrick’s life would have taken a completely different – and much shorter – course. However, it is through Dan’s determination that we could watch this incredible being grow up, surrounded by friends and family and forever regarded as someone, not something.

All grown up! Merrick (far left) loves romping around our pastures with mom Denise (front left) and his newest buddies Summer, Tracey, Reubie, and Hazelton. 

It is journeys like Merrick’s that inspire Dan to carry on with this difficult, yet crucial work. The Red Barn Farm case especially encouraged him to pursue this path, and he continues to apply the lessons learned to this day.

“I think that situation was one of the driving factors that pushed me to pursue law enforcement in a capacity which empowered me to make the decisions to save lives versus depending on others to do it for me,” says Dan. 

We are so grateful for all of Dan’s work ensuring that farm animals receive the protection and recognition that they deserve, and are honored to know so many amazing beings as a direct result of his dedication and love.

Another happy ending! Dan visits with a dog who was up for adoption after being seized from a dog-fighting case.

Meet Todd Stosuy, Champion for Animals in Northern California and Beyond

At Farm Sanctuary, we’re honored to work with compassionate animal control officers who go above and beyond to help abused, neglected, and “invisible” farm animals get the protection and care they deserve. During National Animal Control Appreciation Week, we’re proud to feature one such officer, Todd Stosuy, a onetime Farm Sanctuary intern who has gone on to a career as an officer with Santa Cruz County Animal Services. Todd meets every case with love and grace, and consistently demonstrates the good we can do when fueled by the power of compassion.

Todd is an exceptional leader in the field of animal protection, and one of the many things that helps him excel is his ability to treat everyone he encounters with respect — even when their actions make it difficult. With degrees in criminal justice and sociology and experience working as an EMT and a first-grade teacher, Todd has worked with people from all walks of life, and his background has taught him that the best way to make a difference is by meeting people where they are and considering all factors at play. 

“A lot of times, what people see as ‘neglect’ is more of an issue of poverty that can be appropriately addressed with positive interactions, including active listening, the provision of resources and information, and long-term trust that creates true effective change in behavior,” Todd says. “I am proud to say the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is a government agency that works for the people and animals we serve, and not against them.”  

Todd once aspired to become a police officer, but he found that that line of work did not satisfy his desire to proactively help his community. Similarly, after a year of teaching, he grew frustrated by the lack of support his students received from government entities that had been established to help them. So about 16 years ago, he left his job to pursue a career where he felt he could make a difference. While on a cross-country drive to “find himself,” Todd turned to one of his core values: veganism. A vegetarian since the 6^th grade (after one of his companion chickens sadly ended up on the dinner plate) and a vegan since age 20, Todd was deeply committed to animal-friendly eating. But, he observed, compassionate food choices were harder to come by in some parts of the country than in others. Rather than allowing himself to be discouraged by this observation, he was energized by it. Upon returning to the East Coast, he resolved that he would look for work that would give him the opportunity to help animals. In 2001, that mission led him to Farm Sanctuary’s New York Shelter, where he spent three months interning. The experience helped inspire him to pursue a career in animal protection.

Todd, right, during his days as a Farm Sanctuary intern.

After his internship, Todd spent two years working for PETA as a cruelty investigator. During this time, he learned a great deal about the work animal control officers do, and realized that it meshed well with his experience and interests. In 2003, Todd was hired by Santa Cruz County Services, and a few years later, he was promoted to his current position as Field Services Manager.

Todd’s work involves responding to alleged cruelty or neglect complaints, and investigating them to determine whether the problems were caused intentionally and demand prosecution, or are the result of behaviors that could be modified. Todd and his team regularly respond to pick up loose-roaming dogs; help domestic or wild animals who have been hit by cars or are otherwise injured; respond to reports of loose aggressive animals; follow up on required veterinary care situations; conduct proactive outreach in underserved areas; and assist members of the public with their animal-related questions. Todd’s responsibilities change on a daily basis, and he says that the wide range of situations he deals with makes his career extremely rewarding.

When he’s not in the office, Todd also teaches workshops across the country on “Investigating and Prosecuting Farmed Animal Abuse and Neglect” and “Proactive Community Animal Care and Control.” In this capacity, Todd serves as a role model for his peers, who are often unfamiliar with farm animals’ needs and how best to care for them after removing them from cruel or neglectful situations. Todd teaches these workshops in an effort to empower officers to help every animal in need — companion animal or otherwise. In the latter workshop, Todd hopes to engage officers in employing a community policing model within their programs, in order to assist underprivileged guardians and the companion animals they love.

Todd’s home base is in Northern California, but he has brought his passion for compassionate animal care to locations around the world. He has taught community policing models for animal control to governments in Brazil and Australia and joined the Animal Rescue Coalition of Haiti (ARCH) after the 2010 earthquake to assist in animal rescue and the vaccination of hundreds of animals to prevent the spread of disease. On the home front, he helped evacuate more than 900 animals from wildfires in Santa Cruz in 2008. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the National Animal Care and Control Association since 2008, and served as the group’s president from 2011 to 2015.

Todd insists that these endeavors are all just a part of his job, but it’s clear to all who know him that he is a true champion for animals. And at Farm Sanctuary, we are fortunate to have seen the results of his experience, passion, and drive firsthand. Multiple rescues he has undertaken have brought new friends to our Northern California Shelter, including some of our most beloved residents, and we are honored to be able to give them the love and care they need to thrive.

On May 1, 2008, Todd was driving by a slaughterhouse in Watsonville, CA, when he spotted more than a dozen animals in distress. From the road, he counted nearly 100 animals — including rabbits, chickens, cattle, goats, and sheep — in a filthy, desolate feedlot without adequate food or water. Upon investigating the property, Todd learned that the animals had either been bred there or were acquired at auction by the slaughterhouse owner, and were confined in the feedlot until they were hand-selected by local customers and slaughtered onsite. The animals had witnessed their friends and family members being killed in front of them, and they were understandably terrified.

At the Watsonville facility, Todd met animals such as Susie Moo cow, who was suffering from a broken, bloody horn. Susie Moo had been so afraid of humans that it took multiple people to get her corralled into a trailer. (This once-terrified cow has gone on to become the leader of her herd at our Northern California Shelter). Todd’s heart broke for Susie Moo and the other animals, including a goat who was going blind due to an untreated eye ulcer and whose overgrown, rotten hooves made it difficult to walk. 

Susie Moo at sanctuary.

Todd had been to this facility more than once, and knew that the worker had been properly trained and educated on the minimum required standards of care — and was therefore ignoring them, rather than ignorant of them. Thus, the worker was prosecuted and convicted, and we were able to welcome 13 survivors to Farm Sanctuary. 

Goats from the Watsonville rescue prepare to begin their new lives at Farm Sanctuary’s Northern California Shelter.

Here, these animals have finally found the freedom to live happy, healthy lives, uninhibited by fear. They have learned to trust and love humans despite their previous circumstances, and we are endlessly grateful to Todd for bringing them to safety and into our lives.

Mother and son Annie and Hal – and below, brother Goodall – were some of the goats rescued from Watsonville. 

Todd also introduced us to Loretta and Harrison, a mother-and-son cattle pair who, thanks to his efforts, were able to live out their lives together at sanctuary. Over the course of her life, Loretta had 11 newborns taken from her shortly after birth to be sent into the auction-yard system. But Harrison would have a different fate: At just one day old, he was found dying in a field, considered too useless to be sold for profit. After a good Samaritan reported Harrison’s condition, Todd seized the calf and made sure that he received the care he needed. 

Todd helps young Harrison disembark at Farm Sanctuary.

Once Harrison was stabilized, Todd convinced the “owner” to surrender Loretta, allowing Harrison to receive the nutrients — and love — that only his mother could provide. 

Loretta and Harrison at Farm Sanctuary after both were seized through Todd’s efforts.

Over the years, Loretta was an extremely dedicated and protective mother to Harrison, the only child she was ever able to keep. Todd credits this case with opening his eyes to the deep bonds that mothers and babies of all species share, and he keeps a photo of the pair on his desk to this day — as inspiration as he works to help other animals live the lives they deserve.

Loretta and young Harrison. 

Harrison grew into a beautiful steer.

Todd also rescued Phoebus, Blake, and Sixer calves, whom we named in memory of his late dogs and cat. These boys are dairy-industry survivors who were being raised in a small, dirty pen; they were extremely malnourished when Todd encountered them. Their “owner,” who had purchased them at auction, immediately relinquished custody of them in order to avoid penalties. While Blake and Sixer were subdued upon arrival and Phoebus struggled with some health issues, all three soon rallied and have grown into happy, healthy, and energetic steers at Farm Sanctuary.

These three were terribly malnourished when they were rescued by Todd, but as you can see below they grew into happy, healthy, and gorgeous young steer. 

Blake, Sixer, and Phoebus before and after; Living the Farm Sanctuary Life thanks to Todd! 

Animal control officers, Todd says, “are people who, on a daily basis, actually get to make a difference in the lives of animals and people. We are on the front lines of our communities, and have tremendous ability to not only change the way animals and people live together, but also the ability to make long-term effective change. Every day we have the ability to help people help animals. Whether this is through legal intervention or the providing of resources and information, we truly are in the streets, knocking on doors, and changing lives.” 

We are so thankful that animals in need have Todd on their side, and grateful for every day we spend with the incredible Farm Sanctuary residents whose lives were saved thanks to his diligence and compassion.

We HEART Animal Care Centers of NYC

Some of the hundreds of animals rescued by the incredible staff at Animal Care Centers of NYC. Photos of Maxine cow (middle), Raven and Rigby chickens (left), Jim goat (white goat below Raven and Rigby), and Mr. Pickles rooster (right) are by Jo-Anne McArthur of We Animals.

Honoring the Animal Care Centers of NYC: Thank you for uniting us with these beloved friends!  

During National Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week – and every week – Farm Sanctuary is proud to acknowledge the selfless, dedicated heroes who work tirelessly in times of crisis to liberate farm animals from perilous circumstances. And we could not allow the week to pass without honoring one of our most consistent partners in animal rescue: the Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC). These officers have united us with some of our most beloved friends while helping us shed light on the realities that countless beings just like them endure.

Two of our beautiful babies rescued in 2014 from ACC – Jordan goat and best pal forever, Mandy sheep. 

Most of the animals we take in through the Animal Care Centers are those who have escaped from NYC live markets – facilities where customers select live animals to be slaughtered. Many terrified individual cattle, chickens, ducks, goats, pigs, sheep, and other species are brought from farms as far away as Texas to be slaughtered on site in these markets found in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Animals often escape during the unloading of trailers, and crates of birds, rabbits, and other smaller animals fall off of trucks. When these incidents garner local – and even national – attention, citizens empathize with these beings; they value their fight for survival and insist that their lives be spared.

We have worked with the Animal Control Centers for more than 20 years and have rescued hundreds of animals from the NYC area with their help. And these animals and their stories inspire people to challenge their conceptions about farm animals, including our most recent rescue of a bull named Frank.  

Frank was captured on April 1 after fleeing from a truck unloading at a Queens live market. Thankfully, he was brought to ACC!

Frank ran for his life, and in doing so inspired people to root for this animal who clearly had a strong will, as most all of us do, to live. Frank is in good company with some other renowned bovines and other amazing animals of Farm Sanctuary, who we are fortunate to know thanks to ACC’s ongoing support. Perhaps our most recognized is Queenie, named after the borough – Queens – from which she was rescued, and who became a true queen of her own fate. 

The magnificent Queenie, a true queen of her own destiny.

After escaping from the Astoria Live Poultry slaughterhouse, Queenie ran several blocks through the streets of New York City, surprising motorists and passersby and eluding local police. Her story was picked up by television stations across the nation, and she won the hearts of hundreds of concerned citizens who pressed for her release. Thankfully, the slaughterhouse owner relinquished custody to animal control, and we were able to give this steadfast cow the life she knew she deserved. Queenie is going strong, 16 years later, at our New York Shelter.

Famous Sue Coe painting of Queenie’s great escape through the city and to her home in Western New York, where she still lives today!

Another bovine escapee, Maxine, took a similar dash for freedom, running through Queens, NY, and evading law enforcement for nearly an hour before she was taken to the Manhattan branch of the ACC. As with Queenie, the media was enamored with this brave cow, and human interest – and compassion – granted another being the care and protection she knew she deserved.   

A very stressed-out Maxine at the ACC in Manhattan, getting ready to take a trailer ride to her forever and very happy home in Watkins Glen, NY.

Sheep on the Lam

For one particular sheep, luck was very much on her side. After escaping from an auction house in June 2007, Lucky Lady roamed the streets of the South Bronx for hours before police could contain this young lamb. 

There is no evidence that Lucky Lady tagged these buildings, although as you see below, she was busted for it. 

If you have ever been around sheep, you will know that they have the power to jump high and run fast. Lucky used these skills to her advantage, and took a chance when she was being unloaded from a trailer full of sheep, racing away from the building where the others she arrived with would later perish.

Sheep on the lam (or is this a lamb on the lam)? Either way, as luck would have it, Lucky Lady changed her destiny that day.

And with help from ACC, Lucky Lady found her way home to our New York Shelter, where she continues to bask in her good fortune every time she grazes on our pastures or snuggles with a loved one. Here, she is seen as an individual, forever free to just be a sheep.

The amazing volunteers from the Mayor’s Alliance in NYC are always bringing us these incredible rescues. It takes a city to save a sheep!

Happy Lucky Lady with a little snow on the nose!

Lucky Lady all grown up and turning nine this summer!  

Goats Gone Wild

Besides sheep, other good escape artists seem to be the goats. Some of our most popular goat peeps came from the big city and were all escapees from these same markets. Thanks to the amazing officers of the ACC, these animals are picked up and brought to one of their shelters throughout the five boroughs. And we have had the pleasure of picking up animals in each region.

Elliott suffered temporary blindness due to untreated ulcers in his eyes.

Goats who can thank the ACC for their new lives include Elliott, who arrived at one of their shelters struggling to stay alive. When field officers found Elliott, the sickly goat was malnourished, weak from pneumonia, dehydrated, and blind from ulcers in his eyes. We were called and set out immediately to pick up this incredible boy, who likely did not escape from this terror on his own. Instead of being housed with the other goats in the market, Elliott was probably thrown out back on a dead pile to slowly suffer until he passed, alone. Instead, Elliott took matters into his own hands; he was found wandering but was so weak that he was brought to the ACC’s Brooklyn headquarters, where we picked him up.

We knew right away that this boy would not make it without intervention, including oxygen to help him breathe. Elliott remained at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals on IV antibiotics for more than a month, and during that time he was so sick that it was unclear whether he could survive. But soon he was well enough to come home to our Watkins Glen shelter. We are so incredibly thankful that we were contacted and able to give him the care he needed. Not only did we get the pleasure of this amazing goat’s company, but at Farm Sanctuary, Elliott met the love of his life and forever partner, Lila. All based on a twist of fate and the commitment of the amazing staff at the ACC.

Elliott (left) and Lila are always together – just as they should be!

Another recent rescue is our sweet Levi, who is currently living in New Jersey with roomies Anna and Maybelle of The Daily Squeal!  This boy arrived at the ACC’s Brooklyn location with dirty snot running from his nose, a horribly large ear tag (which, like Elliott’s, said “Meat”) weighing down his ear, covered in lice, and with pox on his mouth.  

Levi’s ear tag; he would soon show the world that he was more than just “MEAT”

It did not seem like things could be worse for this boy, but his first visit to Cornell weeks later confirmed that he had myotonia congenital – in other words, he is a fainting goat. This is one of the most terrifying conditions for goats because it causes their legs to become paralyzed when they are excited or startled. For a prey animal, this is a very frightening condition to have. Thanks to his new family and his old pals, he is learning to work with this condition!

Today, Levi is happy and healthy; here, he’s living the Farm Sanctuary life in New Jersey with best pals Romy and Avery!

Other rescues from the ACC include hundreds of birds. One of our more recent rescues was a group of colored Cornish friends who fell from a truck as it pulled away from its first stop at its first market. If you have ever seen the transport of chickens, you can attest to how shocking the conditions are. Plastic crates are stacked one on top of the other, housing between 10-12 birds per crate, and are strapped down to a flatbed tractor trailer. The open crates also leave the birds exposed to extreme weather conditions, leaving them vulnerable to illness and even death before arrival.  

Trucks with thousands of  birds are brought into the city with multiple stops, where straps are not always properly tied down after unloading, leaving the crates loose and easily dislodged. These birds are just babies and the damage they sustain from these accidents is often fatal — but thankfully, the amazing staff from the ACC is there to help.  

This particular group of colored Cornish (slow-growing broiler breed) were rushed to the Brooklyn ACC location and assessed before we were called to take them in. After months of wound management, surgeries to repair broken bones, and antibiotics to treat infection, these birds all made a full recovery.

We are indebted to the ACC for bringing each of these special individuals into our lives, and hope that their stories can continue to change hearts and minds about our relationships with farm animals. Thanks to these officers’ diligence and compassion, we are able to introduce the world to these magnificent beings who serve as ambassadors for their species, paving the way for better treatment and recognition for farm animals everywhere. We are continuously inspired by this team’s work, and are so grateful to be able know these amazing animals as a direct result of the ACC’s commitment to their well-being. Stay tuned for the many stories of animals rescued by these brave and dedicated field officers of the ACC. We are in awe of all that you do!

To Shear or not to Shear; That is the Question (and we get it every year)

Each year, I am asked why we shear the sheep at Farm Sanctuary when the practice involves so much cruelty worldwide. 

Sheep wool has been used by humans for thousands of years; the first sheared sheep producing very small amounts of wool (just around a pound), while now the average sheep fleece is just over 7 pounds! Breeds such as Lincolns and Romney can have a single fleece weighing up to 18 pounds and Merino can have a fleece up to 25 pounds. 

Picture of Merino sheep in Australia at a sheep sale yard by Jo-Anne McArthur.  weanimals.org 

In the wild, sheep naturally shed their wool and do not require the intervention of humans to shear them. Most domestic sheep breeds continuously grow wool and require at least annual shearing. Shearing is usually done in the spring to avoid them overheating in the warmer summer months.   Sheep breeds used for wool production, have been genetically bred to produce more wool and unlike their wild ancestors they cannot shed this wool without being sheared.  Sadly, the resultant excess skin and wool on many of these breeds only benefits producers who profit at the great expense of the sheep.

Wild sheep breeds do not require shearing and the thick coats they grow for winter shed out on their own. 

One example of how wool excess harms sheep can be seen with the Australian Merino breed. Merino sheep and crosses of this breed have heavy wrinkles or folds in their skin including folds around their hind legs, where urine and feces sit and soak into the wool. The skinfold become moist and actually attract an insect called the blowfly.  

This is the blowfly.  No words. 

They lay their eggs which hatch within 12 to 24 hours into maggots. These maggots actually eat into the flesh and muscle of the sheep which can quickly become fatal. This is called fly-strike. Fly-strike occurs of course because there is no real individualized care based on the sheer number of sheep in the average flock. If you have thousands of sheep you are not able to see each one or even noticed when there is a problem. 

Australian Merino sheep in full wool.  

Mulesing involves cutting flaps of skin from the upper thighs of the lamb under the tail to created a scarred area of skin with no wrinkles or wool. Lambs normally undergo this painful procedure, called mulesing, when they are very young – in addition to ear tagging, tail docking and castration.  

Add to mulesing the fact that shearers, working at an average of two minutes per animal, often cut and injure terrified animals, and that most of the sheep typically end up being slaughtered, and the lives of these wool-bearers look even bleaker. It is for these and other reasons that we advocate for compassionate alternatives to products of such cruelty. 

Millions of sheep die every year in Australia from fly-strike and millions of lambs continue to have the mulesing procedure done to prevent it.  Individualized care can protect sheep from fly-strike without painful mulesing. Procedures such as crutching (keeping the wool sheared on the back end) regular monitoring and the use of fly sprays can prevent fly-strike on sheep. With herds of thousands, however, this is not possible so mulesing is the quicker and far cheaper alternative and as with many cheaper alternatives someone pays the price; in this case the lambs. New strains of Merinos were fewer wrinkles are being bred based on pressure put on the industry by animal welfare groups but sadly this procedure continues today. 

Here at Farm Sanctuary we have many breeds of sheep, including Merino crosses, Scottish Black Faces, Cheviot, Romanov, Finn, Tunis, East Friesian, Katahdin, Suffolk and more. Each has different types of wool, and some grow much longer and thicker than others.  There are fine wool, carpet wool, mediumwool and long wool sheep as well as breeds of hair sheep, such as the Katahdin and Dorper breeds.  

We perform extensive health checks on our sheep every month, so even when the wool is thick, we feel for lumps and bumps, weight loss and any other indicators that an animal is having a health issue that needs to be addressed. An annual part of this regular healthcare routine is shearing, which we do for many reasons.

Without shearing, sheep can get urine scald which of course leads to fly-strike and wool maggots. They get insects called wool keds (parasites that look like ticks) as well as lice. The wool also becomes heavy, especially when it gets wet, and is very uncomfortable since it fills with dirt, hay seeds and other debris. In the summer, sheep can easily overheat – even more so when they have full wool, so we remove it to keep them safe and comfortable during the hot months. The weather this past winter was unseasonably warm and days in the 50′s for sheep in full wool leads to panting and heavy breathing.  

Thistle sheep was captured in a field after running loose for over four years.  Her wool was so full of burrs and thorny sticks that her skin was left with painful scratches.  

Thistle after the shearing (and what a relief that was for her!) 

We also shear wool around the bottoms on the sheep throughout the winter so that urine does not get trapped and burn the skin. By shaving rumps (crutching), we also avoid buildup of fecal matter on sheep with health issues as well, such as our elderly flock members, who often have trouble processing food as they age and therefore have loose stool.

When Liam arrived under his thick matted and urine soaked wool it was discovered his urethra had burst.  After surgery that allows him to live a happy and healthy life, he needs to have the wool sheared monthly to keep him from having painful urine scald. 

Happy Liam sheared and comfortable with best pals Mandy and Jordan. 

When we shear the sheep, we do so in the spring according to the temperature outside. We also base it on the size, age and health of each animal. In April and May we can have temperatures in the 70′s or as low as the 20′s, so we must be prepared, especially when shearing sheep who are older, very young or thin and therefore more sensitive to chills. Since it takes about three days to get everyone done carefully at our New York Shelter (we are shearing 67 sheep) we shear the elderly and very young sheep last, as they usually have little body fat and chill easily.  Our chubby sheeple can be sheared first. We watch all of the sheep carefully after they are sheared and provide jackets if there is an unexpected cold spell and they get chilled.

Ella on the left is one of our elderly sheep and as you can see is much thinner than Louise on the right. Making sure sheep with less body fat stay warm after shearing is imperative to prevent illness. 

Shearing older sheep often requires a team!  But it is much better for them. 

Shearing team for the very cute and loving Samantha sheep.  It is more like a spa day than an actual shearing day. 

Our special needs sheep, such as Samantha below, have very fragile legs and should not be flipped on their bottoms for shearing. This is the same for some of the elderly sheep with arthritis so in cases like these we do the shearing ourselves. This takes much longer but makes the experience pleasant for these sheep. Samantha especially loves this day, and spends much of the time licking the air when you hit the itchy spots. 

Although the average shearing speed is two minutes, we demand that our shearers take their time and are gentle with our sheep.  We also always have caregivers working with the shearer to ensure the process goes as smoothly as possible with as little stress for the sheep. 

When they are first shorn, the sheep leap out of the barn and the younger ones frolic and bounce around the fields. They look a little funny without their thick coats, but they are obviously more comfortable.  

After shearing everyone gets a little crazy!  Anne and Abay playing some jumping and butting games.

They are also often hard to recognize at first and many people start to mix them up, including their own sheeple people. Sheep are very visual animals and when the first few sheared sheep come back into the flock they are often greeted with a big head butt until the sheep stop to smell their pals and realize who’s who. You can see the recognition in their faces when they figure it out. 

Best friend Jordan not sure he knows who Mandy is with her new ‘do, but thankfully he figured it out quickly!

When the sheep are first shorn they are so much more comfortable, since in the wool is a season full of hay stalks, leaves, and dirt that are all super itchy. When they are shorn they have a thick often very yellow oil all over their bodies, which is the lanolin. This oil stings if you get it into a cut (I learned that the hard way!), but it protects the sheep skin against insects and the elements. Many of the sheep have a lot and after shearing they feel very wet to the touch.

Lanolin on the wool creates the yellow color you see on the sheep after you shear them.  It is very wet and oily to the touch. 

We are often asked what we do with the wool. We do not use any wool or other animal products from the sanctuary animals to generate funds. We do not sell the wool, because the sheep did not produce it for us, and to use it for any financial or other human gain would be contrary to our mission. Instead we take the wool to the top of a pasture hill and spread it around so that small animals can use it for bedding, nests, etc… It is amazing how quickly it is picked up!  A few years ago we donated the wool to help with the clean up of the BP oil spill. 

A “good-wool” gesture: Donating sheared wool for oil-spill cleanup. 

It seems that wool is great for absorbing oil, and I am guessing the sheep would love to help out the seabirds and other creatures who were affected by the spill if they could. 

When we rescued Monroe he had years of wool that was causing him serious health issues. This wool can line a whole lot of bird nests!

The best part of shearing, however, is after it is done. It is a long three days, and although we are super careful, it is always somewhat stressful for the sheep. (most don’t like the sound of the clippers or being restrained for the process). Thankfully, like us, they really love it when it is done. Seeing them bop around after shearing, head butting each other, spronking with all four feet off the ground and jumping in the air makes the very labor intensive days worth it. 

Former caregiver Kate Walker at the end of a day of shearing.  

Happy 30^th Anniversary, Farm Sanctuary!

Today, April 17, marks 30 years since Farm Sanctuary was incorporated and a new movement celebrating farm animal rights and protection was born. Since our inception, president and co-founder Gene Baur has been at the forefront of our rescue, education, and advocacy work, changing hearts and minds about farm animals by showing that these magnificent beings are someone, not something. Hailed as the “conscience of the food movement” by Time magazine, Gene has worked tirelessly to shift the dynamic about our relationships with farm animals and has encouraged countless individuals to make more compassionate choices.

Gene getting some affection from Orlando at our New York Shelter.

Recently, we sat down with Gene to reflect on what the past 30 years have meant to him, and how Farm Sanctuary has evolved into the effective proponent of change it is today. We are honored to feature the journey of one of our very first humanimals, and to acknowledge how every humanimal over the past 30 years – including you! – has made a difference in the lives of farm animals everywhere.

What goals did you have in mind for the organization before Hilda was rescued? How did rescuing Hilda reinforce or change these plans?

Our initial intent with Farm Sanctuary was to investigate and expose the abuses associated with factory farming and to demand reforms. Rescuing Hilda off a pile of dead animals at Lancaster Stockyards in 1986 was an extension of our investigations, and led to new ways to advocate for farm animals.

Hilda had been discarded on a “downer” dead pile.

Hilda’s rescue provided hope and healing in the midst of the vast suffering we’d witnessed at farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses. It also allowed us to educate by contrasting the experiences and attitudes that exist when animals are treated as friends, instead of as food, and to model a new kind of mutually beneficial relationship with farm animals.

Hilda spent nearly 11 years on our pastures, and her legacy serves as inspiration for our lifesaving rescue, education, and advocacy work!

Briefly describe the early days of caring for Hilda and the animals who followed before moving to Watkins Glen. How did education and advocacy work tie in (and when did you determine the efficacy of a rescue-education-advocacy approach?)

Before acquiring the farm in Watkins Glen, we lived in a row house in Wilmington, DE. This is where we rehabilitated Hilda and other rescued farm animals, and since we had limited space, we quickly instituted our adoption network to place rescued animals in good homes. Caring for sheep, turkeys, goats, and other farm animals also drew the attention of neighbors, especially children. These animals became ambassadors for their species, as people learned of their harrowing stories and came to see them as individuals who deserved to be treated with compassion.

Our educational efforts have been critical since the beginning. We educate people about the cruelty of factory farming, and aim to change how society views and treats farm animals by modeling relationships in which cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, and other animals are our friends, not our food. The importance of advocating for changes in our food system, and preventing animals from being abused, was immediately apparent. While it is impossible for any shelter to rescue even a small fraction of the billions of animals exploited in the food industry each year, we can create widespread change by sharing our residents’ stories and promoting improved recognition and treatment for countless beings just like them.

Hilda and Gene relaxing together.

Name some of your favorite Farm Sanctuary residents over the years, and what these relationships have meant to you. What are some lessons that these animals have taught you?

An important lesson the animals have taught me over the years is resilience, an ability to recover, heal, and overcome enormous hardships.  They have also taught me the importance of being present, living in the moment, and enjoying life and friendship, and they have shown me how living in positive, mutually beneficial relationships helps everybody thrive. Some of the individuals who have touched me over the years include a pig named Johnny, a chicken named Perdie, and a steer named Opie.

Gene and Opie; the best of friends.

Johnny was a loyal companion and protector of Hope, a disabled pig; he would make sure that the other pigs did not encroach upon her space or take her food.

Perdie was a chicken who was rescued from a Perdue Farms hatchery, and spent the first few weeks of his life in our home (which was a school bus on a tofu farm in Pennsylvania at the time); as a result, we grew very close. When it came time for him to live with the other chickens, Perdie made it clear that he wanted to stay with his human friends, but he eventually warmed up to his new bird family.

Opie was sent to the stockyard on the day he was born, still wet from afterbirth. It was a freezing day and he succumbed to hypothermia, and was left to die in the alleyway where he fell. When I found him, he was nearly comatose, and his temperature was so low that it wouldn’t read on the thermometer.

Despite long odds, he made a full recovery and lived a long, happy life at Farm Sanctuary. I loved seeing and visiting this gentle giant, who grew to weigh nearly 3,000 pounds, on the farm.

What are some milestones within Farm Sanctuary’s history that you are most proud of?

I am proud of the leading role Farm Sanctuary has played in bringing awareness to the plight of animals exploited in agriculture, and the role Farm Sanctuary has played in inspiring a burgeoning vegan food movement. We have come a long way over the past 30 years, and I’m very optimistic about the future. Besides initiating the farm sanctuary movement, we were pioneers in undercover investigations, corporate campaigns, and vegan outreach. Among our successes, we convinced Burger King to sell a veggie burger nationwide, achieved a federal ban on the slaughtering of downed cows, played a key role in exposing and outlawing the inhumane confinement of animals on factory farms in a number of states, and have helped advance a serious discussion about our food system, which has contributed to a reduction in meat consumption.

Are there any laws, policies, or initiatives that have helped or hindered our progress?

There are a variety of laws and policies in place that help maintain the status quo, enabling and supporting a costly and abusive animal-based food system. Animal agriculture receives billions of dollars in government subsidies and has preferential access to increasingly scarce natural resources, like water, at below market cost. At the same time, it is protected by various laws and policies, including “right to farm” laws, which allow these operations to behave irresponsibly without reprisal. They are also sheltered from food industry critics by food disparagement laws, which landed Oprah Winfrey in court when she raised concerns about the beef industry; “ag-gag” laws aimed at preventing undercover investigations of inhumane farms; and the federal Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which unfairly labels and penalizes animal advocates. On the positive side, a number of laws have been enacted over the past 15 years to limit some of the cruelest systems, including veal crates, gestation crates, and battery cages. When such legislation is proposed, it spurs public discourse, which raises awareness and tends to depress the demand for meat.

Gene shuttles a calf to safety.

How has the animal agriculture industry changed over the past 30 years?

The factory farming business has continued to grow, taking over small farms and wreaking havoc throughout rural America. However, as opposition to factory farming has spread, and several states have outlawed some of the cruelest farming systems (such as veal crates, gestation crates, and battery cages), farmers and retailers are increasingly marketing animal products with labels suggesting that the animals are being treated well. It is positive to see growing concern about the suffering of animals exploited for food, but labels suggesting that animals are being treated humanely usually sound  a lot better than they are, and well-meaning consumers are being misled.

What is a notable challenge that you have faced? How did this experience shape you as an advocate and activist and influence the way you interacted with others moving forward?

The Hegins pigeon shoot in Pennsylvania was a focus of the animal rights movement in the late 1980s. It was an annual community fundraiser centered around shooting pigeons and drinking beer. Animal advocates began showing up to protest with the intention of stopping the killing. We would vocally demonstrate our opposition and disgust with the event, often resulting in open conflict with its participants. Various arrests were made over the years as police tried to maintain order in the midst of what became a volatile environment. The violent circus atmosphere attracted shoot supporters who enjoyed the conflict, which made us realize that our confrontational approach was not having the intended result.

We decided to change our tactics; rather than fighting with shooters, we began documenting the violence of the pigeon shoot and rescuing injured birds. When the shooters and their supporters sought to fight, we refused. Unfortunately, the group began to take on more drastic measures to stir us up. They rushed to catch injured birds in order to prevent us from helping them. And they’d rip off the birds’ wings and bite off their heads, attempting to incite conflicts with us.

As the shooters escalated their confrontational tactics, however, we remained nonviolent and continued documenting their behavior. During the multi-year battle, Farm Sanctuary incorporated as a Pennsylvania law enforcement agency and filed cruelty charges, complementing other legal strategies underway to end the shoot. Our behavior came to be seen as respectable and responsible, and the shooters, still seeking to create violent confrontations, were behaving in abominable ways. Their position became less tenable and more desperate.

In the event’s final year, the shooters’ violence was continuously met with nonviolence, which ultimately prevailed. At the end of the day, after most people had left, a small group of animal advocates convened around a veterinary van where rescued pigeons were being cared for. When a group of frustrated shooters came over for one last try at stirring up a conflict we linked arms and turned our backs to them, placing ourselves between the shooters and the pigeons. Thankfully, the police arrived just as the shooters did and told them to disperse. It was a fitting end to an ugly event. This episode helped me understand the power of nonviolence in creating social change.

In the end, were able to rescue dozens of pigeons, many of whom came to live at Farm Sanctuary. And if you visit our Watkins Glen shelter today, you can see the descendants of these Hegins birds.

Selling veggie dogs to benefit farm animals.

How has the animal rights movement changed over the past 30 years?

The animal rights movement has grown significantly over the past 30 years. There are many more nonprofit organizations dedicated to protecting animals today than in 1986, including many who focus on helping farm animals. At the same time, older, mainstream organizations have started including farm animals in their area of concern, and our movement is increasingly partnering with aligned organizations in the environmental, health, and food sectors. There is more awareness and opposition to factory farming today than ever, and it’s never been a better time to be vegan. We are in the midst of a burgeoning food movement, with farmers’ markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, and community gardens spreading. Plant-based businesses are flourishing and attracting enormous amounts of capital as the marketplace shifts. In 1986, I needed to mix soy powder with water to make soy milk. Today, I can go into most mainstream grocery stores and find a variety of alternatives to cows’ milk, including almond, soy, and coconut-based milks.

Gene with Elliott goat.

How has your life changed since Farm Sanctuary was established?

As Farm Sanctuary has grown and evolved, I have grown and evolved. I cofounded Farm Sanctuary when I was 23, and am in my 50s now. I remain impatient about the slow pace of change, but that has been tempered by a recognition that this work is a long-term, complex effort that requires patience and persistence. I’ve adopted several mantras, including the serenity prayer, that provide guidance along the way:  “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” I consciously choose to focus on and dwell in positive things that are happening, instead of dwelling in the immense pain and sadness of our world. The sanctuary has been and continues to be a place of hope and healing, for animals and people.

What does a typical day for you entail? How has this changed over the past 30 years?

There is really no typical day for me now. In the early years, I was involved with investigations, animal rescue and care, and farm maintenance. I was also engaged with raising awareness and advocating on behalf of farm animals, in addition to growing the organization. Those years involved routine daily activities, like feeding and cleaning chores and corresponding with our early members and supporters, along with emergency animal rescues, veterinary trips, and occasional media and speaking opportunities. Today, I spend most of my time speaking to supporters and others who are curious about Farm Sanctuary’s work, and I travel extensively.  For example, last week I traveled to Florida, Texas, and Minnesota for meetings, talks, events, and media appearances. I enjoy meeting people across our country and around the world, but also need to be mindful about taking care of myself during the more grueling travel periods.

What are some of your interests and hobbies outside of Farm Sanctuary life?

I love being in nature, which I find to be healing and regenerative. I also enjoy running (especially in nature), and playing Ultimate Frisbee along with other sports. I love history and learning about different human experiences and beliefs in various times and places. My undergraduate degree is in Sociology and I remain keenly interested social systems and structures.

Gene running the L.A. Marathon.

Gene and vegan ultramarathoner Scott Jurek enjoy some time on the trails during one of our annual Hoe Down events.

What are some lessons we’ve learned over the past 30 years, and how can we apply these teachings going forward?

We have learned how entrenched animal agriculture is and that taking on this industry requires dedication, patience, and persistence. We need to remain engaged and effective for many years, so it’s important to take care of ourselves, which entails things as basic as getting enough rest, eating well, and staying hydrated. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how emotional human beings are, and how attached we can become to harmful behaviors.  We are not so much ‘rational animals’ as we are ‘rationalizing animals,’ and we have a strong propensity to rationalize when we don’t feel good about our conduct. Over the course of human history, we have come up with many reasons to do very bad things, and that continues today. However, I’ve noticed that everybody has a desire for love and kindness; focusing on these qualities, and supporting and empowering that spark, is an effective way to create positive change.

We are indebted to Gene for his guidance, compassion, and leadership over the past 30 years, and honored to share and learn from his experience and perspective.

Gene and Ari at our New York Shelter.

We encourage you to join in the conversation by visiting Gene on Facebook, clicking “Like” if you haven’t already, and sharing your own memories!

Your love and support has made our lifesaving work possible. As we look ahead to our next 30 years, we are honored to share this journey with such esteemed individuals – a compassionate world begins with you! 

Frank’s Homecoming: From Mad Dash in Queens to Safety at Farm Sanctuary

It started with a call from Steve Valentin from the Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC). There was a cow coming into the Brooklyn branch of the ACC, and Steve asked if we could take her. Without hesitation, I said that we would, and quickly looked online to see if there was already a story about her. While nothing came up in this initial search, I came upon a different story twenty minutes later; and what I saw changed everything.

But I am getting ahead of myself. First things first, I got off the phone and started making calls. The first call was to Tracey Stewart, with a plea to go and pick up this cow. I knew that whatever this cow needed, Tracey and company could deliver. At the time, I had no idea that her husband, Jon, would be driving the getaway car, or that this cow was actually not a cow at all — but again, I am getting ahead of myself.

Then I started seeing the videos, some of which were texted to me by Vyolet Savage, who joined the Stewarts on the trip to the city. Others came from Farm Sanctuary members; still more I found online. The scene was pure insanity.

What I saw was clearly not a cow, but a bull — and a very frightened bull at that. But he was a bull with a mission to live and a will to survive, despite plans to take him to the slaughterhouse. And thankfully, living is something that Frank (more about his name later) can now do!

Videos showed a very scared bull who went to the only thing he knew, the only thing that seemed normal: grass. He went to a college campus. And hundreds of people were yelling, cheering, laughing, and taking cellphone video from the scene. Knowing cattle, and knowing what they do when they are frightened, Frank’s reaction was not surprising. He ran at and tossed those obstacles in his way, many being people. He was called “vicious” by police. And he was shot with tranquilizers to stop him and get him to safety. Thankfully, this safety was the ACC.  

The police are charged with the safety of the human public, and in most cases, loose cattle who are behaving like Frank was behaving are shot, not tranquilized. So although it is upsetting to see him hit with those darts — which did cause him pain and infection — it is a whole lot nicer than being shot with a bullet. It really takes a village — or a borough — to save a bull.  

Now back to the rescue. I realized this was a bull and not a small cow or a steer, which I had initially thought might be the case. And I saw what this bull had in mind for those trying to capture him. Since I was five hours away, I made a second phone call — to Mike Stura of Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue— to see if he could come to the city, meet the Stewart clan, and ensure that this bull pulled no punches (or head butts or kicks) and got on the trailer. It takes a village, especially with a bull. And this bull needed the whole village.

So Frank was loaded, though not without incident (again, he was very frightened). From New York, he was taken to Skylands in New Jersey, where the team from Farm Sanctuary met the trailer and safely (though not without a few close calls) loaded Frank from the Stewarts’ trailer to the Farm Sanctuary trailer. We then took him directly to Cornell University Hospital for Animals. 

Why not straight to Farm Sanctuary? We had everything set up for Frank’s arrival, but we found out that he had been shot at least twice with a tranquilizer. Animals can die because of the drugs used in these guns, and they are often so wired — their adrenaline is so high — that they do not go down with one shot. We hear about it all the time. We are so thankful that the choice of tranquilizer vs. bullet was made — which is not usually the case — but too much of the drug can easily shut down the liver and kidneys or cause other health-related issues. We have seen cattle die within 24 hours after being tranquilized, and we did not want to risk our sweet new friend’s life.

And thankfully we took him to Cornell, where he would receive the treatment he needed for this, in addition to other issues.  

First among them: pneumonia, which in this case was likely a type called shipping fever.  This pneumonia is not an unusual occurrence after regular transport but Frank went through far more than just that.  This condition along with his blood work not being good, however, prevented him from going under anesthesia, which we could have waited to do for his neutering but not for the other issue he had.

Lots of nasal discharge and heavy breathing caused by pneumonia, which resulted from the stress of transport as well as the stress of being loose in the big city. What a very long and trying day!

The Second Issue: Frank had two BARBED darts still lodged in his thighs. OUCH is the word that comes to mind. He went from being very upset to very quiet, which is not necessarily a good thing.

Blood work showed elevated muscle enzymes and a high white blood cell count — Frank’s body attempting to fight infection. Part of the problem came from the barbed darts in his bottom and his thigh. It is inconceivable how painful that must have been. 

After a week of blood work, ultrasounds on his lungs, and observations of his overall health, we were able to safely anesthetize him to surgically remove the darts (and his testicles) so he could come home.

Barbed darts that were surgically removed from Frank’s thighs.  

Since the wounds where the darts had been became infected, Frank returned home on antibiotics and a drain that needs to be flushed. But good news: He is no longer terrified and therefore no longer “vicious.” And, to be clear, when anyone — dog, cat, bull, or person — is frightened and lashes out, they are not vicious — they are scared. Some of these beings simply have more potential than others to fight back.  

Frank at the ACC’s Brooklyn location, waiting for the life-changing moment when he could leave the city for a life in the country. 

So as scary as they may seem, just remember what they are going through and what you would do in a similar situation. 

He has a drain in his wound from the dart, which he is allowing us to flush daily without restraining him — which is better for everyone. 

Thankfully this ended well, and he did not perish from an overdose. Instead, he went to a place where the darts could be removed, and has just moved to the best place on earth if you are a steer who wants to live out his life in peace: Farm Sanctuary.  

Ted meeting his tiny new friend Frank. We all feel very lucky to have this boy in our lives!

And this tiny little bovine has already had a serious effect on everyone he has encountered. You have to remember that he was on the way to be slaughtered. If he had not made this mad dash for freedom, he would have become a few meals — hamburgers, steaks, etc. — and an unknown to everyone eating those meals. Instead, he is Frank — and from the moment he took that run, he became someone. 

Once you meet Frank, you cannot see him as meat — as a meal or two — as anything than a survivor and an individual. He did what any one of us would do in the face of death: He fought back and he ran.  

Even in chaos and fear, Frank is responding to kindness — the offering of love through the offering of food, a gesture he clearly recognized as kindness. What a difference from just hours before. 

And now at Farm Sanctuary, he is making an even bigger impact. We are getting to know him and are falling in love with this brave survivor. So far, he has made a few bovine friends, including Ari, the youngest of the steer in the main herd; Moo, one of the gentle giants; Nik, who is close to his size; and Ted, who is just plain silly. He seems to have some serious love for his lookalike (and also the closest to his own size), Chandini. She is also from a live market; perhaps they are from the same farm, and I think they may be destined to be together. (Stay tuned.)

A kiss for his new pal, Ari. Frank is loving the new friends he is making. We are sure he misses his old friends and family, but he has a whole new life ahead of him!

And crazily, he likes us. Even with shots, with the flushing of wounds, and with the fear he has experienced, he seems to really trust us. Maybe it is the kind words, the huge smiles he receives when we look at him, or the way he sees us with the other cattle. He loves to be scratched, he loves to be brushed, and he comes to the gate when you call him.  

Since he was just neutered, it will be a month before he can join the herd (we don’t want any pregnant cows!!). But thankfully he can see the herd, and if you put a little hay outside his stall he has an instant dinner companion. He is making new friends daily.  

Dinner for two: Ari enjoying some hay with his new pal Frank. I see a future for these two! 

As for his name: there is a reason for “Frank.” The folks at the ACC were calling him Frank Lee — for Frank Lee Morris, the famous prisoner who escaped from Alcatraz. And then, while driving with Frank Lee, Tracey and Jon’s daughter was running through some name ideas — and the first one to come up was Frank! Well, that sealed the deal! And, funny thing — he already knows his name and comes when you call him — or moos if you call him and he cannot see you.  

Note the very sweet and relaxed look in his eye. He is no longer terrified — no longer worried. He is content. 

And once he is able to join the herd, his life will forever change. He will have a family, he will have freedom, he will have peace, and he will be loved for the individual he is! Thank you to everyone who made it possible for this amazing boy to come to Farm Sanctuary and to finally be seen as someone, not something!

Meeting a gentle giant: Frank getting a little sniff from one of the big boys, Moo!

Please share Frank’s story. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding for farm animals like him. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

Trudy Trudy Trudy: From Frightened Backyard Resident to Happy Pasture Dweller

Trudy was rescued from an L.A.-area backyard butcher by local animal control officers. Her “owner” had a history of abuse and neglect, and Trudy was no exception. She was struggling to stay alive at the time of her rescue, surviving on bread scraps. But she was one of the lucky ones who was rescued in time; the bodies of others who had perished were nearby during her rescue. Trudy was saved along with more than a dozen sheep, one goat, and a calf. (This group soon expanded when one of Trudy’s flockmates, Edith, gave birth to a baby named Cassie Jo; you can read her story here.)

Trudy arrived frightened, but you could see the kindness in her eyes.  

When Trudy was brought to the animal care and control holding facility, she was dehydrated and underweight. Her coat was covered in fecal matter and mud, and she was suffering from an upper respiratory infection, for which she was put on antibiotics. 

Trudy and her friends arrived malnourished and with overgrown hooves and poor wool condition. All of them had a very severe respiratory issue that took nearly a year to fully resolved. 

Understandably, after Trudy was rescued and brought to Farm Sanctuary, she was still terrified of humans. We can only imagine what she endured at the hands of her former “owner,” but seeing how scared she was anytime anyone came close to her, we knew it must have been horrible. We knew it would take time for Trudy to trust us — if she ever learned to trust us at all.

At Farm Sanctuary, we continued to treat Trudy’s upper respiratory infection; she was also suffering from mastitis, which required additional treatment. Her health issues required a lot of hands-on care by the caregivers, which was very scary for Trudy — who, after all, had never known humans to be kind. We were always as calm, quiet, and gentle as possible during her treatments, knowing that they were necessary for her recovery. We hoped that, through this care, Trudy might realize that we were there to help her. 

Often sheep at these backyard lambing farms are mother/daughter or sister pairs and this family is no different. Lurlean rests her chin on Trudy — and many others stand behind her when they are frightened.   

Trudy was very close with all of the sheep she was rescued with and would always flock to them for comfort, but she was particularly close with one sheep named Bea Arthur. These two were two of the biggest sheep from the rescue, and would often run to each other for comfort if any staff members came in to clean, put down more food, medicate, or socialize with the friendlier sheep in the group. We gave Trudy as much space as we could during all of this time, knowing that, if and when she decided she was ready to accept us, it would need to be on her terms. 

One thing that seemed to put us on Trudy’s radar as being okay was the mash we fed these emaciated sheep on a daily basis. She would watch intently as we came and put the food down, and as soon as she felt we were a safe distance away, she would run over and start to devour the delicious and nutritious food. 

Trudy is still a huge fan of her mash feed!

We will never know exactly what changed, but one day Trudy decided that we were okay. She came right up to the caregiver who brought her food that day and stood there as it was put down — no waiting until the caregiver was a safe distance away this time! After this, she would run up and follow the caregivers around as they were putting down fresh mash and hay for the sheep each day. She slowly allowed us to get even closer with her, and soon we were able to scratch her head! (Her favorite spot is in between her two little horn nubbins, and she would stand with a smile on her face while we scratched this area.) 

There are very few words to describe what it is like to see an animal who comes to you terrified and afraid begin to recover from the abuse, trauma, and neglect they endured, and start to trust people. The best word to describe it is magical.

Trudy enjoys being petted and scratched by humanimal Teresa.

Trudy continued to be more outgoing with staff and interns on the farm, and when she and her flockmates were introduced to our main sheep herd, she continued her friendly ways. 

Trudy has grown so much since her rescue, and it is incredible to see how different she is today from the day she arrived at Farm Sanctuary. She now comes running when she is called by her caregivers, or will lazily saunter over for a good back scratch. She has even memorized the different vehicles we use for the various animal care shifts on the farm. For example, she knows which vehicle brings her food, and will always head over to the barn when she hears or sees this one approaching. She will run inside and wait — not so patiently — for her mash bowl to be put down, and then it’s time to eat! 

Trudy absolutely loves her special mash feed!

Trudy has continued to have a close bond with all of the sheep she was rescued with. Still, to this day, she is almost always found within a few feet of Bea Arthur. She loves her sheeple and has embraced living the Farm Sanctuary life with them all. 

Trudy, left, with her best friend Bea Arthur. Hard to believe they can even see each other. 

One of Trudy’s favorite spots is inside the Rescue Barn in the pasture she lives in with the rest of our domestic sheep, especially during the summer — all of our barns are cooled with large fans and mister systems. Trudy will often go outside to graze before it gets too warm, and then spend the rest of the day standing or sleeping in front of these fans. She will never have to worry about not having shelter from the elements again.

It is incredibly rewarding to see this amazing lady every day and know that she will always have everything she needs at Farm Sanctuary. She will never be without fresh water, proper food, or shelter from the heat and cold again. She won’t ever have to suffer, or watch her friends suffer, due to cruelty and neglect from humans. As she ages, she will get everything she needs to be healthy and comfortable to live as long and full a life as possible, and she will always be loved unconditionally by her sheeple and humanimal families.  

Trudy now loves attention so much that she will try to get in on it when one of her flockmates is being petted! Here, she and Joey sheep jostle for the best petting position next to intern Savannah.

Please share Trudy’s story. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding about the rich emotional lives of sheep like her. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate, vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

Ted and Leo: Brothers from Different Mothers

In 2013, we received a call about two bull calves who had been discovered left in stalls at a recently purchased Amish dairy farm. The new owners were also new to the industry and had thought the idea of running a small dairy would be a bit more idyllic. They purchased the property — cows and all. What they discovered in some of the back pens, however, was not expected.

The farm was horrific, and the new owners discovered stalls in the back of the barn where the previous owners had taken some of the unwanted calves — just a few they had been raising for meat. Two bull calves were found tied with rope to the walls of their individual stalls. Both calves were barely able to lie down or even stretch their legs. And although each had endured the same ordeal, the two calves had never met each other. Neither had ever left their stalls. For their entire lives, Ted and Leo had suffered alone.

Leo, the older of the two calves, had lived for more than a year in the same pen, lying in his own feces.  

The younger of the two, Ted, was tied to a post in a stall — again, living in his own waste. The farm’s former owners had used baling twine to tie this little boy. 

Most healthy calves are playful and energetic, but Ted and Leo were found anemic, lethargic, and weak. When we freed the calves from their tethers, their muscles were so atrophied that they fell as they attempted to walk. 

Leo standing up showing his horribly swollen body, sores on his legs from being down, and feces covering his abdomen. 

We brought the pair back to our New York Shelter to start the recovery process. The healing began even before we started treatment for their physical ailments. When they met for the first time, Ted and Leo bonded instantly, forming the friendship they had been starving for — their own little herd of two.

Both calves were very small and had horribly tight, bloated bellies, although they were both very thin otherwise — with ribs, spine, and hips prominent. Both had what is called “hay belly.” This is actually from eating low-quality hay or even straw, which could have been the case for these two boys. It had given the calves a potbellied appearance. 

It is difficult to understand how anyone could allow baby animals to languish in such misery, yet it happens all the time. Dairy cows are kept pregnant so they lactate. The female calves from these pregnancies are typically raised to join the dairy herd, but the males are of no use. Generally, they are sold at auction to be slaughtered for veal or raised for cheap beef. Some calves remain on the farm to be slaughtered there. We have no idea what the plan had been for these two boys, but they were left to suffer alone.

Ted arrived frightened, but also weak and covered in such a thick layer of hardened feces on his legs that it took weeks of scrubbing and brushing to get it off.  

These two arrived at Farm Sanctuary anemic, infested with parasites, bloated, and emaciated. Both were treated for pneumonia, and their blood work showed dangerously low selenium and vitamin E levels — likely the cause of their weakened muscles — so they received injections of vitamin E and selenium. Their hair was caked with old feces, which cleaning was not removing. It took weeks to get the caked-on poop off their legs and bellies.

Although they were very weak, Ted especially tried desperately to go outside and stand in the sun. For the first few weeks, they spent a great deal of time down. 

But with months of treatment, good food, lots of brushing off dried-on poo —  the two boys started to blossom. In a few weeks, they were able to graduate to a few hours of grass a day; introduced slowly, of course, since they were not used to anything too rich. And they loved every mouthful.

Leo and Ted are easily identified based on their stripes. Leo’s is a bit crooked — and is more like an hourglass. 

Ted’s is more of a straight white stripe, with less of a dip in the middle.  

This is what I call a Ted Talk! Mooooooooooooove over Tony Robbins.

As winter arrived, the boys still had some health issues, but they were improving —  and no longer bulls after a quick surgical procedure. They started getting their fuzzy winter coats and saw their first snow.  They still were quiet for calves — not really able to do much playing, and actually stumbled when they ran — although they kept trying. 

Leo as a cute little winter calf — covered in heavy winter fur and giving the coy look (also known in some circles as the stink eye).

When their first spring came, they were ready to roll — and for the very first time, in the mist at the end of the day, these two boys went on the first official pasture run-and-buck of their lives. No more living in a pen, but finally healthy and happy enough to enjoy the freedom they had been granted and the freedom all beings deserve.

The first real run on pasture with two very happy and very free boys!

Leo is a more serious and much more sophisticated steer and has grown into quite a handsome guy. He and his boy Ted are always still together, but Leo is just a bit more mature. (See next picture for proof.)

And their personalities really started to blossom. Leo remained the shyer of the two and a bit more serious in general. Ted is the clown and is always just doing his own thing. He often lags behind the herd while watching deer, or goes too far out on his own or with Leo, and doesn’t notice the herd leaves. But he is not scared — he just takes his time.

Thhhbbbbbbbbtttt — that is what Ted thinks of milk-drinking. Almond and cashew are okay — but not dairy!

Ted also really enjoys time with people — so much so that he will pull himself away from the herd yet again, not just to get attention but to really spend quality time with them. It seems to be his calling — to speak to the people. A visit from his new friend Maggie was a great example. Maggie met Ted and then he walked her down to the barn — even with his whole herd still on top of the hill. When he decided he should be with his herd, he continued to hesitate and check back on his new humanimal pal, until finally she decided to walk him back up the hill to his people. He is a good friend to his humanimals.

Ted loving his new best pal Maggie. (Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur) Notice that the stunted boy has grown and grown!

Hello — it’s me. I was wondering if, after all these years, you’d like to meet. If so, come to the Watkins Glen farm. 

Ted and Leo have very different personalities. Though they are both friendly, one of them is a bit more assertive and once you get to know him, he is always right there!

Ted and Leo are also very popular with their cow friends. They love nothing more than receiving a bathing from one of their Holstein mothers — like Diane, who seems to be rather obsessed with keeping Ted sparkling clean. 

While living in the special-needs herd, Ted and Leo were both very spoiled by the lovely Diane; I think took on the role of their mother. And what a great mother she is! (Note that when a cow licks a steer — the person disappears.)

Again with the cleaning. Diane finds the boys to be dirty and always needing a bath.

Ted Talk on how to really clean out your nostrils.  

Leo loving some time in the grass under the apple trees.  

Most of the time the boys are still connected: BFFs (Bovine Friends Forever)

Please share Ted and Leo’s story. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding about the deep emotional lives of cattle as well as the unfortunate truth about the dairy industry. With a growing number of delicious dairy-free options and recipes, it’s never been a better time to make the switch. And it is one of the easiest ways to honor cattle like them.

With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

Autumn Goat: From Abused to Beloved at Farm Sanctuary

We can’t know the exact circumstances that led Autumn goat into the hands of an abuser, but we know the horrific result all too well: The young goat was found in a dry creek bed one day in 2013 with his limbs bound together and his mouth sealed with duct tape. His story could quite easily have ended there.

Fortunately for Autumn – and for the herdmates and humanimals who would come to love him – the duct tape around his muzzle was not so tight that it prevented him from screaming. His terrified cries were heard by compassionate passersby who took action to help.

Farm Sanctuary got the call about this traumatized seven-month-old kid in need and stepped in to offer him a loving, permanent home. Autumn was safe. But he didn’t know it yet.

When he first arrived at our Northern California Shelter, he was absolutely terrified. Experience had taught him that humans caused pain and fear, and he clearly expected more of the same from his new caregivers. He spent his early days at Farm Sanctuary trying desperately to escape. Fearing that he would jump out of his enclosure, or injure himself in the attempt, we placed him in temporary housing in a stall, whose walls prevented potentially dangerous escape attempts. The stall also gave him a quieter place to begin to calm down and get used to the daily routine of sanctuary life.

We have rescued many male goats whose lives began in the dairy industry, which views boys as byproducts and treats them as such. This is likely where Autumn’s story began, but the additional acute trauma he experienced would make emotional recovery even more difficult for him than it is for most. Healing would require time – years of it – and, perhaps even more crucially, friendship.

Not too long after Autumn arrived at our Northern California Shelter, another terribly frightened goat arrived as well. We decided to play friendship matchmaker to see if these two terrified individuals could help each other heal. The results were nothing short of incredible.  

Autumn and best friend Aidan.

This new resident, Aidan, became Autumn’s roommate, and the two quickly became the best of friends. These two frightened individuals found strength in each other, and gradually – ever so gradually – they even began to warm up a bit to the humanimals in their midst.

Autumn is still a bit skittish around people at times, but he has become much more relaxed overall, and we no longer see the terror in him that characterized his early days with us. If you can believe it, he has actually become the more outgoing of the duo, often leading the way to explore new things while Aidan stays just a bit behind.

After Autumn and Aidan had bonded and begun their healing process together, we knew the time was right for them to join a larger herd. We tried them with a few different goat groups and eventually found the perfect fit for them in a small, energetic band of males: Scribbles, Noel, and Justin. We worried at first that this boisterous trio of young “bachelors” might overwhelm the smaller and more timid Autumn and Aidan, but we were delighted to discover instead that the pair fit right in.

Autumn in the pasture with his buddies.

Today, these five friends spend their days grazing, playing, exploring their pasture, and taking a series of naps in the sun (or inside their barn if it’s too hot or rainy outside). When a nap is complete, it’s time once again for a play break and some roughhousing! (When the boys are engaged in an especially wild play session, we like to joke that they are having a “bachelor party.”) 

Through each activity and every part of the day, Autumn and Aidan stick close to each other – just as they did when they first met. Their friendship has seen them through recovery from trauma and helped them to establish a new life at sanctuary, free of the terror that once consumed them. It has been an honor and an inspiration to watch this transformation take place.

Aidan and Autumn share a meal.

Please share Autumn’s story. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding about the rich emotional lives of goats like him. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

Earth Day: The Fate of Our Planet Depends on What You Put on Your Plate

Worldwide, there are currently around 56 billion farm animals raised and slaughtered for human consumption each year. Modern animal agriculture puts an incredible strain on natural resources such as land, water, and fossil fuels, and there’s no shortage of environmental facts and stats to support this. Farm Sanctuary’s animal residents serve as ambassadors for all farm animals subjected to cruelty and neglect, and each helps us better understand the inconvenient truth of our Standard American Diet. These ambassadors come from this giant industrial machine that, on its current course, is destroying the planet that we love. On Earth Day, remember that not only does peace begin on your plate — so does the health and longevity of our planet. 

1.  A Whole Lotta Waste. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), about 130 times more excrement is produced from factory farms than human waste across the entire country. That is roughly five tons of feces and urine from factory farms for every single U.S. citizen. Just one factory farm can produce as much waste as an entire city. These large volumes of waste degrade surface water and groundwater quality in the event of waste spills, leakage from waste storage facilities, and runoff from fields.

When factory farms are hit by natural disaster, like the one that hit the Buckeye egg farms, years’ worth of waste from the million birds who lived in these barns is washed into rivers or absorbed into the earth, causing groundwater contamination. Symphony hen, in the inset photo, came from this facility.

Factory farms typically store animal waste in huge, open-air lagoons — often as big as several football fields — which are prone to leaks and spills. In 2011, an Illinois hog farm spilled 200,000 gallons of manure into a creek, killing more than 110,000 fish. These lagoons not only pollute our groundwater, but deplete this already scarce resource.

When we were called down to Iowa during flooding, you could only see the roofs of the large industrialized pig farms — so you can guess where the lagoons were. Nikki and her family came from those barns.

When lagoons reach capacity, farmers will often opt to apply manure to surrounding areas rather than pay to have the waste transported off-site. According to the USDA, animal waste can contaminate water supplies and emit harmful gases into the atmosphere when over-applied to land.

Up close and personal with liquid manure — and there is a whole lot of it. Imagine on any given day that about 1.4 billion cattle, 1.9 billion sheep and goats, 980 million pigs, and 19.6 billion chickens are doing their doo-doo. Where does it all go??

Oh, here’s some. Liquid manure is sprayed on fields, but then rain of course carries that manure to other locations — such as rivers, lakes, and streams. So really, an easier question would be — where doesn’t the poo go?

2. A Whole Lotta Land. And grass-fed is definitely no greener: The United Nations has estimated that 70% of the Amazon rainforest that has been destroyed is used for grazing livestock (and according to the World Bank, that figure could be as high as 88%). Even beyond the rainforest, each pound of grass-fed beef produces 500% more greenhouse gases than grain-fed, according to a 2016 report from Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.

Susie Moo is a breed used in beef production and came from a farm in Northern California where thousands and thousands of cattle graze on grass grown by using the already depleted water supply to produce grass-fed beef.

3.  About Those Antibiotics. In order to prevent the spread of disease in the crowded, filthy conditions of confinement operations, and to promote faster growth, producers feed farm animals a number of antibiotics. Upwards of 75% of the antibiotics fed to farm animals end up undigested in their urine and manure. Through this waste, the antibiotics may contaminate crops and waterways, and ultimately be ingested by humans. 

Nikki and many of the gestation sows who came in from large industrial farms from Iowa during the floods of 2008 had antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, including MRSA, due to the large amount of antibiotics fed to them daily.  

19.6 billion chickens inhabit our planet at any given time, and currently most of them are fed large amounts of antibiotics in their feed. Like the pigs from Iowa, Twiddlebug and friends arrived with highly antibiotic-resistant staph infections.

4. Hold Your Nose. Animal agriculture generates 18 percent of net greenhouse gas emissions, more than all the cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined! 

Peanut steer checking out his “competition.”

During digestion, ruminants like cattle, sheep, and goats emit methane, an infamous greenhouse gas and key contributor to global warming. Research published in the journalClimatic Change found that a global transition toward low-meat diets could reduce the costs of climate change relief by as much as 50%! 

With more than 1.5 billion cows grazing, sleeping, and chewing their cud at any given time on planet Earth, there is some serious gas production going on. We cannot just blame Conrad (although Jay is trying to).

Want to help the planet, and the animals we share it with, by reducing or eliminating animal products from your diet? Visit V-Lish for tips on making the switch, as well as delicious recipes that are entirely free of animal products. There’s never been an easier — or more important — time to adopt a plant-based diet!

Lila: Left to Die, Now Loving Life

As Farm Sanctuary rescue workers entered the western New York property where Lila and dozens of others languished, they were nearly overwhelmed by the smell of death. A barn crammed with junk housed starving sheep, newborn lambs, and chickens in stalls cobbled together with pallets, scrap metal, ropes, halters, and chains. Outside, emaciated cows stood in grass less pastures without hay or water. A makeshift slaughterhouse loomed nearby. In that cinder-block building, the property owner butchered young animals, and in the surrounding barns and fields, he bred their parents until their bodies gave out. We rescued more than 60 animals from this grisly scene, all of them emaciated and many so unwell that we feared for their lives. The one who worried us the most was Lila.

Lila arrived before we even stepped foot on the property where the others were rescued. The night prior to her rescue, workers from the SPCA in Cattaraugus County entered the barns to make an assessment of what would be needed the following day. There, they came across a closed door in the barn with the sheep.

Behind that door was a dead pile. An assumed-dead Lila lay motionless with her head draped across a deceased sheep.  Although she was so weakened by parasites and anemia that she couldn’t even rise to her feet or even lift her head, she was alive.

When we got the call, we met the SPCA to get Lila and rush her to Cornell University Hospital for Animals. There, she received a blood transfusion from Marjorie, one of our New York Shelter goats. Still, she remained too feeble to stand on her own. It took several more days of intravenous fluids and round-the-clock care until she managed to stand for more than a few seconds and get up without assistance.

Restoring Lila’s strength was a challenging proposition: After surviving so long without food, she needed to gain weight gradually; eating too much too fast could kill her. Moreover, her ailments had left her immobilized for so long that her muscles had atrophied. Her vets treated Lila for parasites and began physical therapy. We checked on Lila frequently while she remained at the hospital and prepared to see her through months of intensive rehabilitation here at our Watkins Glen shelter. We were so thrilled when we were finally able to bring our girl home!

In our new Melrose Small Animal Hospital, Lila lived next door to another recent rescue and first patient in our new facility: Elliot. Though not quite over his own traumatic illness, Elliot would vocalize to her through the door that separated their pens.

For weeks they both slept by the door and communicated throughout the day, until one day Elliot decided to take control of the situation. He broke down the slider door, moved himself in with Lila, and started up what appears to be a lifelong relationship (they’ve been together now for four years). We introduced Lila and Elliott to one of our small, special-needs goat herds, and the pair immediately hit it off with their new pals .

Lila has also been quite taken with her new caregivers, her guests, and really, anyone who pays attention to her. She’s filled with a lively curiosity and calls out eagerly to anyone who passes by her barn. And who could resist such a friendly greeting?

She moved into the sheep barn and remained there with Elliot for years, until she grew so strong that she decided to be a bit sassy.  Apparently, Lila did not approve of the amount of attention we’d been bestowing on a young sheep. One jealous hook with the horns landed that boy in the hospital (thankfully requiring nothing more than stitches and separation from bullies like Lila!). Lila was moved to another area with pals who can better handle her roughhousing (and even put her in her place). Naturally, Elliot is with her. Lila is no longer the boss, but it seems to work better that way!

Lila has undergone a clearly miraculous transformation from victim to victorious — unencumbered by any sign of her past ordeal. It’s hard to believe this vivacious, strong individual is that same goat who was so frail and suffering neglect.

The man who bought, exploited, and neglected Lila nearly ended her life, but he could not define it, and now, she has reclaimed it. Lila exemplifies the astounding capacity to thrive that resides in our fellow animals. Some, like her, get the chance to bring that vitality out into the light; to embody it fully. Others must sustain it silently through lives of darkness. But it lives in every one, awaiting the kindness that can set it free.

Please share Lila’s story. Together, we can encourage awareness and understanding about the rich emotional lives of goats like him. With your support we can continue to promote compassionate vegan living through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. A compassionate world begins with you!

Celebrating Bruno Barba, the Birthday Boy Who Gave the Gift of Life to a Very Special Pig

Recently, humanimal Bruno Barba commemorated his 17^th birthday with a special visit to our Northern California Shelter and his dear friend Lola, a pig who is free to live out her days at sanctuary thanks to the compassionate actions of this budding activist. 

Bruno joined his school’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) program last year to learn about animal husbandry and experience these interactions firsthand. When he started the project, he knew that he was expected to raise an animal for auction, and eventually, slaughter. But he did not expect to bond with the piglet he named Lola to such an extent that he could not complete the project, nor to develop a new perspective about humans’ relationship with farm animals. Now, however, he has made it his mission to help other young people understand that these beings are someone, not something — not objects for us to control, but individuals for us to love and protect.

Bruno and Lola exploring her new home last year. 

In the aftermath of Lola’s rescue and move to Farm Sanctuary, Bruno quit the FFA, and he and his mother, Dulce, went vegan in honor of their pig friend and the countless others she represents. Bruno and Dulce have embraced this transition wholeheartedly, attending vegan community events and even hosting their first vegan Thanksgiving last year for their friends and family. While these actions are very different from what Bruno had previously been taught to accept as normal, his experience with Lola opened his eyes about what our relationships with farm animals can and should be. “I didn’t even notice how [farm animals] were being treated until I started taking care of Lola. It changed my view so much, because she’s exactly like us,” Bruno explains. “When I was in agriculture, they teach you to not view animals as equals, to view them as products for us to sell off and get rid of.” Now, animals like Lola are some of his most profound teachers, inspiring Bruno to shift the discourse about how we view and treat farm animals everywhere.

Dulce, Bruno, and Lola: a family portrait commemorating the start of Lola’s new life at sanctuary. 

While it may be frightening to follow our hearts when faced with pressure to go with the flow, individuals like Bruno serve as a wonderful reminder of the power of compassionate choices. At our 2015 Gala in October, we presented Bruno with the Friend Not Food Award, honoring his courage and kindness in standing up for his friend and saving her life.

Tracey Stewart, Dulce Barba, Bruno Barba, Jon Stewart, and Gene Baur at the 2015 Farm Sanctuary Gala.

Bruno’s story, as shown at our 2015 Gala.

While in New York for the Gala, Bruno and Dulce also made the trip upstate for a visit to our Watkins Glen Shelter, where they befriended more of our rescued residents and witnessed firsthand the transformative power of love.

Bruno interacts with Harper (front right) and Benedict (rear right), who’d been rescued two weeks before from a backyard butcher operation in New York’s Hudson Valley. 

 Nikki pig loves a good belly rub from pals like Bruno!

Bruno and Cash, member of the Sheep Barn Welcoming Committee!

As inspiring as it was to meet these individuals, it is clear that Bruno’s heart lies in Northern California with Lola. Since the Barbas live more than eight hours away, however, they had been unable to visit since accompanying Lola to her new home last July. Since Bruno’s birthday coincided with the high schooler’s spring break, Dulce figured that a short trip would make an excellent birthday surprise. (Bruno discovered his mom’s arrangement about three weeks before their visit, but that gave him plenty of time to plan his reunion with the pig who had changed his life just as much as he’d changed hers.)

Lola, who inspired Bruno to stand up for farm animals.

When Bruno and Dulce arrived, Lola was busy socializing with her new herdmates. It warmed Bruno’s heart to see her “with her family: her boyfriend Reggie and her adopted mom Stacey.” It was rewarding to know that Lola is now free to establish these lifelong bonds and see how happy and fulfilled she is in her new life. Of course, Lola soon accepted some much-appreciate belly rubs from her old friends!

 Lola and Reggie, PFF (Pig Friends Forever).

Enjoying the simple pleasures of being a pig: rooting around in the dirt with a pal.

Bruno and Dulce also bonded with another mother-son pair: Betsy cow and her son Nutmeg. Betsy had been purchased by reality TV producers so that her milk could be used by contestants on the show “Utopia"; when the show was canceled, she came to Farm Sanctuary and gave birth to Nutmeg in the safety of her new home. While Bruno was especially fond of Betsy, Nutmeg singled out Dulce as his new human friend of choice. “When she was with Nutmeg she was just sitting down and petting him, when out of nowhere he just moved his head back and laid his head on her belly,” knocking Dulce to her back and making her laugh with delight, Bruno recounts.

Bruno feels strongly about the importance of humane education for young people, and hopes to play a part in other students’ compassionate realizations by taking his story on the road. After graduating high school, Bruno is considering becoming a public speaker, sharing his experience with Lola with other young people and helping to change conceptions about our relationships with farm animals. Bruno feels most passionate about reaching students before they enter programs such as the FFA, to prevent the desensitization that inherently comes with “successful” program completion. “This program affects you in many ways: physically, emotionally, every way. Once [students] are in the program they don’t even view their animals as pets or equals; they view them as objects. They just view them as a piece of meat; it’s very disgusting. If they don’t learn before they go into it they’re just not going to care.”

Youth programs like the FFA can be effective character builders, but we need not use animals at our expense in order to achieve this. By supporting other aspects of these programs it is still possible to grow and enact positive change. Through Bruno’s example, perhaps we will one day see community-supported activities that focus on compassion, and encourage our youth to view and treat all creatures with dignity and love. With advocates like Bruno on our side, a more compassionate future is inevitable.

We are so thankful for Bruno for lending his voice to farm animals like Lola, and for taking positive steps in helping his peers view the world through a more compassionate lens. We look forward to seeing where Bruno’s journey takes him and anticipate positive change through his brave and compassionate example!