Remembering Teresa

Posted on by

By Susie

Teresa was already living at Farm Sanctuary’s New York Shelter when I started working here more than a decade ago — but I met her even before that. Our first encounter was in the summer of 1998, during a rescue I’ll never forget.

We Met Under Terrible Circumstances
Back then, I was working at another sanctuary, and we received an emergency call to help with a large number of confiscated animals (you can read the full story here). A driver transporting 167 pigs from a North Carolina factory farm to a Pennsylvania slaughterhouse abandoned his vehicle on a street in Washington, D.C. It was a hot day, and the pigs were trapped in an intensely crowded metal trailer with no water. They could easily have died there, but, luckily, some neighbors called the police. The Washington Humane Society seized the trailer, and, shortly after midnight, it arrived at Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary in Maryland.

Freedom to Live a Pig’s Life
It took us over 24 hours to get the pigs off the trailer, which was three stories high and had no ramps. A local horse rescue group built wooden ramps to help the frightened animals down. Seeing those pigs as they struggled out of that awful trailer was the hardest thing I’d ever done at the time. They were all overweight. They were so weak and suffering from joint pain that they walked on their knees. As soon as they reached the ground, they started eating dirt — something they had never seen before. These six-month-old pigs were born in a factory farm warehouse and spent their entire lives indoors. They didn’t know how to drink out of water tubs. They never had any sort of bedding, but, on the first night after their rescue, they made big, soft beds for themselves out of straw. This was the beginning of the life they were meant to live! Since birth, they were unable to do the things pigs love to do — but deep down they knew how.

Among the many natural behaviors that are thwarted in the lives of factory farm pigs is the formation of functional social structures. Pigs are crowded together so tightly that they can barely move, much less give each other space or form friendships. This is intensely frustrating for them because pigs are social, and they crave close friendships. After her rescue, Teresa took full advantage of the opportunity to do just that.

Bosom Buddies
Teresa was one of the 40 pigs from the D.C. rescue who found a home at our shelter in Watkins Glen, New York. During her long time with us, she had several “best” friends from among that group. Her first and very best friend was Howard. They always slept face-to-face, and I often found them chatting up a storm first thing in the morning and right before they went to sleep at night. Both pigs were very friendly and enjoyed company, but they loved each other most of all. When we lost Howard to liver failure, Teresa was devastated and became very depressed.

New best buddies helped her heal. She developed close friendships with Kari, Nancy, and Dale. Other than Teresa, Dale lived the longest of any of the pigs from their rescue. In their old age, they lived together in our retirement barn. Two years ago, however, Dale passed away. One by one, Teresa’s friends succumbed to the ailments that beset domestic pigs, even those who receive diligent care. Now she was the only one left. I could tell this was hard for her.

Howard and Teresa

Kari and Teresa

Teresa and Nancy

Teresa in Love
Around the time Teresa lost Dale, a pig named Harry lost his elderly mother, Hazel, to cancer. Like Teresa, he was lonely. He mourned deeply, and we worried for him. We have seen pigs shut down for weeks, not wanting food and not attempting to get up and be active. Pigs don’t always appreciate new roommates, but when we introduced Harry and Teresa, and these two hit it off at once, and they became a great comfort to each other. They enjoyed the same things: eating, sleeping, mud- and sun-bathing, and more sleeping (spooning each other of course). It was love. They reminded us of an old married couple, and they reminded each other how sweet life can be.

The Circle of Life
Life was sweet for Teresa, despite her health problems. She survived uterine cancer and lived the last five years of her life with mammary cancer, which remained in remission. Like all domestic pigs, however, her body was distorted by industrial breeding practices that cause pigs to grow to unsustainable sizes even on restricted diets, predisposing her to joint ailments. As she aged, she began to experience severe arthritis in her front legs, and, despite our care and treatment, the condition slowly worsened. Late this autumn, it became so severe that nothing we could do eased her pain. We knew it was time to help her to a peaceful end.

KJ, the dog, and Teresa

Over her many years, Teresa loved and lost and mourned dear friends, but she was always ready to open her heart to new ones. Now it is our turn to mourn Teresa and also, like her, to find comfort in being there for others. We are looking for a new partner for Harry, who misses his friend. In this way we honor an amazing pig who lived an incredible life, one I wish every pig could have.

Wal-Mart Harms Animals, Ignores Science

Posted on by

By Bruce Friedrich

There is a battle going on between animal protection advocates and the pork industry over “gestation crates,” the 2-foot by 7-foot cages that confine about 80 percent of the United States’ 5.5 million breeding pigs. In these crates, pregnant pigs are unable to engage in most of their most important natural behaviors. They’re never able to turn around or even lie down comfortably, day and night, for their entire lives.

Honey, escaped life in a gestation crate during the flooding of the Mississippi River in 2008. She now lives at our New York Shelter.

Over the past decade, nine states have banned the crates — most recently, Rhode Island, after lobbying by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the ASPCA, and Farm Sanctuary. Building on our legislative success, HSUS has convinced a long list of corporate behemoths to phase out the systems, from Smithfield Foods, Oscar Mayer, and Hormel to Costco and Burger King.

When a practice is so cruel that Smithfield Foods agrees it has to go, you have to wonder who might be foolish enough to defend it. In fact, our campaign has been so successful that a former stalwart defender of crates, agricultural scientist Ted Friend from Texas A&M, has called on pork producers to stop their “kicking and screaming” and to recognize that a crate phase-out is simply “another inevitable change.”

Wal-Mart: Ignores the Science and Defends Cruelty to Animals.
Mercy for Animals documented their investigation into a Wal-Mart supplier. The following video shows in graphic detail just how bad these crates really are. Please watch.

I’ve attempted several times, without success, to secure a response from Wal-Mart concerning their continued use of gestation crates in their supply chain. In an online response to the allegations of abuse, the company calls crate use “a complicated issue” with tenable arguments “on both sides.” This statement simply isn’t true, and it ignores the findings of scientific studies on the effects of gestation crate confinement on pigs.

Julia was pregnant when she rescued from a life of confinement in a gestation crate, and cruel abuse, in a factory farm in New York. She now lives at our New York Shelter with her children.

The Scientific Consensus
The science is not in dispute: immobilization of pigs in crates is highly damaging for them, both mentally and physically.

There are a host of physical problems that result from crate confinement, each of which represents extreme suffering for pigs. First, the animals’ muscles and bones waste away so severely from lack of use that walking becomes excruciating; even standing up can be painful. Second, because the animals rub against the bars of their crates and lie in their own excrement all day and night, they suffer painful ammonia burns on their skin, and their lungs become raw from breathing putrid air. Third, the animals are in a constant state of starvation because they are fed about half of what they would normally consume. Fourth, due to lack of exercise and decreased water consumption, many sows suffer from urinary tract infections (UTIs), which are associated with a high mortality rate. For source information on each of these issues, check out this scientific report from the Humane Society of the United States.

The situation is no better in terms of the animals’ mental health: Pigs have cognitive and emotional capacities beyond those of dogs, and, in some areas, they outperform even chimpanzees. So it’s no surprise that they suffer mental and emotional anguish when they’re unable to move for most of their lives. Meat industry consultant Dr. Temple Grandin states unequivocally what the science proves — that animals need companionship every bit as much as humans do; they love to play, they experience joy, and more. Every one of these natural desires is impossible to experience when they are confined in tiny crates. The relentless stress and frustration routinely leads to mental instability in these animals, who chew maniacally on the bars in frustration causing their mouths to bleed from cuts and sores.

Nikki also had been confined in a gestation crate when she was pregnant. Like Honey, she escaped during floods and gave birth on a levee. She was rescued and now lives at our New York Shelter with her children.

Conclusion
At Farm Sanctuary, we spend our lives with farm animals, and we wouldn’t eat them regardless of their treatment prior to slaughter. There is no moral or rational difference between consuming a dog or a pig, a cat or a chicken.

But we also work to eliminate the worst abuses of farm animals, and it’s hard to imagine anything worse than gestation crates; immobilizing animals for their entire lives qualifies, without a touch of hyperbole, as torture.

Please take action now to pressure Wal-Mart to stop its support for cruelty to animals.

 

Turkeys I Have Known

Posted on by

By Susie Coston

Here at Farm Sanctuary, we think a lot about turkeys this time of year. That’s because more than 45 million turkeys used for food are slaughtered in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Apart from that grim statistic, there is so much that I wish more people knew about them.

Marino

I wish more people knew how turkeys suffer. On factory farms, turkeys are selectively bred to develop horribly distorted bodies — chests so huge that they can’t mate or fly or perch. Their abnormal size overtaxes their hearts, and their feet and legs are crippled from bearing so much weight. They are crammed into windowless warehouses by the thousands, and parts of their sensitive beaks and toes are cut off without anesthetics.

Even more than that, I wish more people knew that turkeys are like us in so many ways. Turkeys are incredibly personable, each a unique individual. In fact, many of the qualities that endear them to us are the very ones we value in other human beings. Let me tell you about some turkeys I have known.

Charisma
Chicky, one of the most popular turkeys to ever live at the New York Shelter, had health issues, but he never showed guests anything but his stunning strut and his sweet nature. He let adults and children touch his wattles and snood and stroke his feathers. If you whistled, he’d answer you with a gobble. Chicky’s other love, besides attention, was food. Gaining weight was not a problem for Chicky, though! His constant strutting kept him fit.

Chicky

Curiosity
Around here, turkeys are famous, sometimes infamous, for their curiosity. We have a new turkey named Daisy who is even more curious than most. When you are in Daisy’s vicinity, whatever you are doing, she’s probably right behind you. Walk through the turkey pasture – there’s Daisy! Walk into the barn – there’s Daisy! Turn your back on your healthcare kit – there’s Daisy taking inventory! Some of the turkeys like to run off with the items they find in our kits, but Daisy just keeps digging, determined to investigate everything inside.

Daisy

Humor
Our dear Marino was the clown of the farm and such a love. He arrived with facial paralysis that had caused his beak to be permanently crossed, resulting in eating and breathing difficulties. We gave him lots of attention and help, and he was always a good sport. He was intrigued when anyone brought a camera to his barn and strutted right up to it, thinking himself quite a celebrity. One year, we found a turkey-sized Santa hat for Marino. I swear he was fond of posing with it! Marino made us smile, and he knew it and loved it.

Marino

Kindness
Hildy, one of my all-time favorite gals, lived at the New York Shelter for eight years. When you called her name, she’d come running. She spent hours with caregivers and guests, letting them stroke her back until she drifted off to sleep. This friendliness extended to her flock mates, too. She was especially close with her best friend, Kima, but no fellow turkey was beyond the scope of her good will. Like many animals, turkeys can be territorial and sometimes give newcomers a hard time, but Hildy never fought with anyone. She received every guest and new arrival to her home with complete graciousness. We could all learn from these turkeys: Put our best foot forward (and maybe even strut our stuff), keep our eyes open to the fascinating world around us, have a sense of humor, and, most of all, be kind to every living creature.

 

Hildy

We could all learn from these turkeys: Put our best foot forward (and maybe even strut our stuff), keep our eyes open to the fascinating world around us, have a sense of humor, and, most of all, be kind to every living creature.

The Red Meat Myth

Posted on by

By Bruce

At Farm Sanctuary, we support incremental change. When someone decides to consume fewer animals, that’s a good thing. When someone becomes vegan for the sake of their health, that’s also a good thing.

We know that adopting a vegan diet often takes time, and some people find that it helps to take steps on their way toward vegan eating. That’s why we applaud Johns Hopkins’ Meatless Mondays, Mark Bittman’s “Vegan Until 6,” and other campaigns and efforts that start people on a path to veganism — and save animals at the same time. There’s one change that many people may undertake, however, that unintentionally harms more animals than it helps.

I’ve stopped eating red meat – There’s More to the Story
We hear it all the time: “I’ve stopped eating red meat.” We want to be supportive and kind in our response — the person is, after all, telling us about progress they’ve made toward compassionate living. Yet, from an animal welfare perspective, eating chickens and turkeys instead of pigs and cattle is actually counterproductive.

Consider this: Chickens and turkeys are so much smaller than cattle or pigs that eating chickens or turkeys results in the intense confinement and deaths of many more animals. In fact, Americans consume 100 times more chickens than pigs and 250 times more chickens than cattle. Shockingly, chickens and turkeys comprise more than 98.5 percent of all slaughtered farm animals.

Chickens and turkeys in the food industry are treated even worse than cattle. Cattle who are used for meat, for instance, may have some degree of pasture time, but more than 99 percent of turkeys and chickens are confined for their entire lives, unable ever to engage in even their basic natural behaviors. Sadly, it gets worse.

Chickens’ upper bodies now grow about six times more quickly than they did 50 years ago. According to University of Arkansas, “If you grew as fast as a chicken, you’d weigh 349 pounds at age two.” The stress on their bones, joints, and organs is debilitating. Conditions are so bad in modern chicken sheds — which look like carpets of live but unmoving chickens — that the death losses are one percent per week. In a shed containing 30,000 birds, which is fairly small for modern chicken sheds, that’s 300 dead birds per week!

The only federal law that purports to cover farm animals, the Humane Slaughter Act, entirely exempts birds — in other words, 98.5 percent of slaughtered animals are completely unprotected. I won’t give the gruesome details, but what this means is that every aspect of chicken slaughter in the United States would be illegal if these animals were mammals rather than birds.

Chickens are Complex
Some people start on a path toward veganism by no longer eating the larger animals out of the mistaken assumption that cows and pigs are more “like us” (or smarter) than birds and fish. That shouldn’t matter when we’re talking about compassion, of course, but it’s also not true. Studies of chickens have shown that they can learn from watching other chickens on television, delay gratification, and demonstrate other behaviors that indicate that they are at least as cognitively complex as cats, dogs, and other mammals. Find out more on our Someone Project pages, at someoneproject.com.

A Gentle Conversation
So the next time someone tells you that they’ve given up red meat, gently ask them “why red meat, in particular?” If they cite health reasons, let them know about the cruelty that birds endure, and you might also mention that studies show no net benefit to cutting back on red meat if it’s replaced with chicken, which has no fiber or complex carbohydrates and is packed with saturated fat and cholesterol. According to the USDA, chicken today has more than 10 times as much fat as it used to (and three times as much fat as protein). Chicken is also the most likely meat to be contaminated with salmonella, campylobacter, and other bacteria, which lead to tens of millions of illnesses annually.

In conversation, never criticize or condemn a person’s food choices, of course, but follow this question with factual information. Explain why the decision to forego red meat is counterproductive in terms of saving lives or lessening cruelty to animals, and educate them about food choices that both save lives and improve their health. That single conversation can make all the difference for thousands of farm animals.

Bruce is Farm Sanctuary’s Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives. Check out his essay and video presentation on effective advocacy in the “Be a Better Advocate” section of compassionatecommunities.org.

Will You Join Team Farm Sanctuary?

Posted on by

By Gene

At the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in DC

I’m excited that Farm Sanctuary has been selected as an official charity for the 2013 LA Marathon®. This is the first time Farm Sanctuary will participate in a major athletic event, and I will be running as part of Team Farm Sanctuary on race day! I would love to have the opportunity to meet other Farm Sanctuary supporters who are also runners in this event. The LA Marathon will take place on March 17, 2013. It starts at Dodger Stadium and ends in Santa Monica. Registration has begun. Click here to learn more about how you can get involved.

Joining Team Farm Sanctuary at the LA Marathon isn’t just a great way to meet other runners who care about protecting animals; it’s also a chance to raise funds for Farm Sanctuary and reach out to friends and family about the issues that matter so much to all of us. Every member of Team Farm Sanctuary will be working hard to raise $500 to support our life-saving work.

Getting involved provides a wonderful opportunity to educate people about why farm animals deserve better than the horrible existence they endure on factory farms. Running a marathon is also, of course, a significant personal accomplishment.

I’ll be running 26.2 miles for farm animals in Los Angeles on March 17th. I’m sure there will be challenging moments, but knowing that I’m running for a meaningful cause will propel me forward. I hope you will consider joining Team Farm Sanctuary. If you aren’t able to run but still want to get involved, please consider supporting my efforts by making a donation today on my fundraising page. Let’s show the LA Marathon what Farm Sanctuary is made of!

Baby Boom

Posted on by

By Susie

It was a baby-boom summer at our New York Shelter! We frequently rescue young and even newborn animals. Less frequently, we have the opportunity to help deliver animals at the sanctuary when we rescue those who are already pregnant. In these cases, our caregivers face intensive prenatal rehabilitation efforts, sleepless nights keeping watch as the crucial moment approaches, high-risk deliveries, plenty of hard work to help new moms and babies in the early days… and great excitement as we watch new life begin to flourish and new families grow.

Julia and Her Babies

Just a five days before July 4, Farm Sanctuary’s Emergency Rescue Team arrived at a factory pig farm where authorities were confiscating a pregnant breeding sow. The day before, a worker had brutally kicked, beaten, and shocked her as she screamed in pain. Settling her in our trailer, we saw the bruises and burns on her body — and profound fear in her eyes.

A mere eight hours after arriving at our New York Shelter, the sow, now named Julia, gave birth to 16 premature piglets. Our entire shelter staff leapt into action to provide the 24-hour, critical care these fragile babies needed to survive. Their mother, too, required weeks of careful treatment including fluids and treatment for mastitis. Although she still required medical care, her fear was clearly gone. The trust she immediately displayed for her new caregivers, and the patience and love she gave to her babies, have been an inspiration to us all.

Today mom and babies are thriving. Dynamic duo Antonio and Bertha and best pals Gus and Ben have already found wonderful adoptive homes, and more adoptions are coming soon. With their new families, these piglets will be showered with attention and spend the rest of their lives in the company of their beloved siblings. Mom Julia is staying with us along with two of her piglets, Diane and Linus.

Oleander and Pappas

Earlier in the summer, we rescued seven emaciated cattle from a central New York property where they had been starving to death in a barren field. In adjacent barns, sheep, chickens, and a goat also languished in neglect, and nearby loomed a makeshift slaughterhouse. We rescued more than 60 animals from this grisly scene.

During physical exam, we quickly discovered that Oleander, one of the cows, had been struggling not only to survive but also to support new life. Neglect had placed both her and her unborn calf at risk, and we did all we could to nourish them both as the birth drew near.

With vigilant care, Oleander gained sufficient strength to bring a healthy boy, Pappas, into the world. Her growing strength was accompanied by growing joy. The young mother and her son delight in each other, and Oleander is never far from her youngster’s side. Recently, this little family has grown with the addition of a calf named Elijah, who has become a best friend to Pappas and a second son to Oleander.

Belinda & Elijah

The story of Elijah’s mother, Belinda, exemplifies the maternal benevolence of cows, not only toward their own flesh and blood but also to other calves in need. Belinda was among the herd of rescued cattle that included Oleander. She too, already desperately depleted from starvation and nursing her calf Octavia, was carrying a new baby. She is also a very old cow, and it is likely that she was kept in a cycle or pregnancy for more than a decade before arriving at our shelter. By the time Belinda was rescued, her body had stopped producing milk in order to support her new pregnancy. Fortunately, herd mate Luna stepped in, allowing Octavia to nurse alongside her own calf, Orchid. This trio became inseparable, and after recuperating at our shelter, they have been adopted by Vine Sanctuary in Vermont.

With the help of Luna and her new caregivers, Belinda was able to carry her baby to term. Mother and son’s time together, however, was soon interrupted. Still weak from neglect and taxed from giving birth, Belinda fell gravely ill and was rushed to the hospital. Although he was sad to be away form his mother, Elijah was a trooper during her weeks of recovery and quickly took to the bottle.

Finally after more than six weeks, Belinda was well enough to return to the shelter. Still weak and vulnerable to udder infection, however, she was in no condition to nurse. We tried fitting her with a special bra to prevent Elijah from trying to suckle, but his presence caused her to begin lactating again, and she immediately contracted mastitis. Knowing this could cost Belinda her life, we were forced to separate them. To lift his spirits, we introduced him to Pappas and his mother, Oleander. The two calves bonded instantly, and, within a few days, Oleander had fallen for Elijah as well, allowing him to nurse and becoming as protective of him as she is of Pappas.

Now Belinda can focus all of her energy on getting well. When she grows stronger, she will join other rescued cattle, make friends, and form new bonds. As Octavia and Elijah have done with their adoptive mothers and siblings, she will build a new family. That’s part of the new life created by this baby boom: not only life beginning but also life beginning again.

Animals used in food production, from dairy cows and pigs to chickens and sheep, rarely have the opportunity to experience the mother–child bond – in fact, piglets, calves, and lambs most often are taken from their mothers soon after birth. Some, such as male dairy calves, are sold for cheap beef or simply left to die in agony. Others, like the parents they’ll never know, become yet more “units” in our food-production system, processed for maximum growth at the expense of their health, their sanity, and their lives. This emotionally wrenching process is just one of the many hidden cruelties farm animal production.

Come meet these new families at our New York sanctuary and experience for yourself the remarkable love and devotion farm animals have for their young — or learn more about them online: The Mother and Calf Bond and Julia and Her Piglets.

A Foul State of Affairs: The Hidden Harm of Factory Farms in North Carolina

Posted on by

By Gene

Factory farms have a lot to hide. We’ve all seen undercover footage exposing the horrendous treatment suffered by industry animals that a few brave individuals are able to bring light (as with the recent case involving dairy cow abuse by Central Valley Meat Co. in central California). Perhaps less obvious to the general public is the insidious environmental destruction that results from the massive amounts of waste produced by these operations. This waste degrades the surrounding land and surface waters in what most of us consider to be distant places. To local communities, however, the reality of factory farming is anything but hidden — the smell, the flies, the foul brown water all seep through the land they call home.

View from above: a factory farm and manure lagoons.

I recently had the opportunity to view firsthand the negative impact that factory farms have on the environment and their communities in eastern North Carolina. Farm Sanctuary’s Bruce Friedrich (senior director for strategic initiatives), Nick Ugliuzza (our photographer and videographer), and I were invited as guests of Robert F. Kennedy’s Waterkeeper Alliance, which provides support for communities standing up for their rights to clean water and for the wise and equitable use of water resources, both locally and globally. Among other laudable activities, Waterkeeper Alliance works to enforce Clean Water regulations by documenting water pollution and holding factory farms accountable.

Shocking Sites
Waterkeeper staff member Larry Baldwin and volunteers Rick Dove and Joanne Somerday were our guides to some shocking sites. North Carolina is second only to Iowa in the number of hogs raised for meat in the United States, and it ranks second to Minnesota in slaughter of turkeys for meat. The chicken industry is also significant and expanding there; in fact, another large scale chicken facility is slated to be built in the state. The waste produced by these Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) — more aptly described as animal factories — is overwhelming and destructive, and what we saw on our tour deeply saddened us.

We flew over expansive manure “lagoons” on the properties of pig farms; we saw these operations spewing liquid pig manure onto fields, which then flows into surface water and pollutes the environment. Near a road outside one animal factory, we witnessed a cow standing chest deep in water laden with pig manure. We also observed sprinklers spraying liquid manure away from a farm, murky brown water flowing into a ditch, and miserable turkeys crammed into sheds almost the size of a football field.

No Trespassing
When we tried to speak with several “farm” owners about their methods and expansion plans, we were rebuffed. The local city council members who were called to meet with concerned citizens were either poorly informed, claiming ignorance about the chicken farm expansion plans, or worse, trying their best to curb any community-wide discussion about the issues. Case in point: The “heads-up” information on plans for expansion of these operations that should have been the starting point of an open dialogue with citizens was posted on a sign declaring that a new slaughterhouse was coming soon and that a meeting would be held to approve it. It’s clear that agribusiness enjoys an imperious influence over town leaders and government policies wherever factory farming sets up shop.

So that’s the bad news.

Row after row of expansive buildings housing tens of thousands of animals.

See Something, Say Something
But the good news is that community activists are beginning to motivate their neighbors to take action. I was struck by how much courage the folks in one community had to speak up about the devastating effects of these animal factories. We spoke to two community activists who grew up in an area that includes factory farms, and they are fighting a chicken farm expansion. We also attended a town meeting with other members of the community who showed up to voice their opposition to a new factory farm. Big Agriculture is entrenched in North Carolina and in other states, and some people are clearly afraid to speak out. But these neighbors challenged the assumptions of local leaders that new (undesirable) jobs or perceived economic gains trump any concerns about the environment or quality of life. Not only are these folks noticing the problems and thinking for themselves, but they are taking the time and energy to voice their concerns to us and to local authorities.

Small Conversations, Big Results
We also met a charismatic former pig farmer named Don Webb, whose neighbors confronted him about the air pollution caused by his pig-farming operation. One person after another spoke to him about the flies, the stench, and the fact that they could no longer enjoy being outside their homes. He told us that he thought of his parents: If something like this were happening to them, he realized that he would absolutely do his best to protect them from the problem. His neighbors effectively educated him about the harm he was causing, and he decided to get out of the business. His story is a testament to the fact that one person can make a difference by starting a conversation.

Thousands of turkeys packed into one building.

Uplifting and Inspiring
This trip showed me that people in any community adversely affected by factory farming must gather their voices, stand up, and be heard! It takes courage and fortitude to challenge assumptions and educate your own neighbors, local business owners, and local government leaders. I was inspired to see people in North Carolina stepping up and taking a stand. This type of activism is never easy, but it’s the only way local governments may begin to understand that the factory farming devastation must stop.

 

A Wake-up Call: USDA Slaughterhouse Closing

Posted on by

By Gene

Over the past two weeks, news outlets across the country have reported on the USDA’s closure of a cattle slaughter facility in central California for “egregious inhumane handling and treatment of livestock.” The agency was alerted to misconduct at Hanford’s Central Valley Meat Co. by animal protection organization Compassion Over Killing, whose undercover investigator gathered footage of workers shooting cows in the head repeatedly with a captive-bolt gun after the first shot failed to stun them, of a conscious cow flailing as she hangs from her back leg on the chain that will carry her to the throat-slashing station, and of sick or injured cows struggling as workers roughly try to force them to stand.

The cruelty uncovered at Central Valley Meat sickens me, but it doesn’t surprise me. The company and the industry will allege that the recklessness and brutality brought to light there are an aberration, but after more than 25 years investigating the abuse of downed animals and advocating on their behalf, I can tell you that such conduct is all too common.

Central Valley Meat Co. is one of many operations that specialize in slaughtering dairy cows whom producers deem “spent.” To keep cows in constant milk production, dairies subject them to an unremitting cycle of impregnation, birth, and lactation. Producing more than twice as much milk they did 40 years ago, cows are impregnated every year and are milked during seven months of their nine-month pregnancies. They are pushed to their biological limits. After a few years of this, they are exhausted — their bodies depleted, their bones brittle, their udders often painfully infected with mastitis. When they are no longer profitable as milking cows, these poor animals are sent to slaughter.

It was at a stockyard that a Farm Sanctuary rescue team found Fanny. This “spent” cow, had clearly endured not only the ordeal of milk production but also the misery of neglect. Her horribly overgrown hooves made every step excruciating, and her legs buckled under the weight of her enormous udders. Instead of trying to help her, stockyard workers hit her with wooden poles to make her move, striking her every time she fell, attempting to force her to get up.

rescued cows at our farm animal sanctuary in new york

Fanny and Orlando

As soon as we could gain access to Fanny, we brought her to Cornell’s veterinary hospital where we assumed she would need to be euthanized. Despite her ailments, however, with the care she received, Fanny began to revive. Within hours, her eyes were brighter, and by the next day she was standing on her own and greeted us with a loud moo. Against the odds, Fanny still had plenty of life in her.

And even after years of seeing every calf she bore taken away within hours of delivery, Fanny also still had a strong desire to be a mother. At our New York Shelter, she met Orlando, Arnold, Tweed, Conrad, and Milbank, young male dairy calves sold at auction for cheap beef when they were newborns and later rescued after their buyer shot six others purchased with them. The mother who had never known her calves and the calves who had never known their mothers claimed each other at once and became a blissful family.

The devotion Fanny and her adopted sons have for each other underscores the tragedy of dairy production. These animals suffer not only physically but emotionally. The lives denied them are not ones of mere survival but ones of intimacy, loyalty, and joy.

The slaughter of animals too sick, injured, or weak to stand and walk on their own (“downers” as the industry calls them) at Central Valley Meats, a supplier for the USDA’s national school lunch program, has justly raised concerns about the safety of the U.S. meat supply, not least because the violations occurred under the noses of two USDA inspectors stationed at the plant. Under federal regulations instituted in 2009, in part at the urging of Farm Sanctuary, the slaughter of downed cattle for human consumption is prohibited. Without strict oversight, however, businesses will continue to push downed cattle onto the kill floor, squeezing profit out of every animal they can. They will also continue to slaughter downed pigs, sheep, and goats with impunity, since these animals are as yet exempt from the regulations that are supposed to apply to downed cows.

Every year, more than one million animals become so sick or injured that they are unable to walk to slaughter. We are still fighting against great resistance to keep even these extremely unwell animals from being killed for food. If our government demanded that all animals slaughtered for human consumption actually be healthy, by any sane definition of the word, and if that regulation was actually enforced, the slaughter industry would be brought to its knees.

The USDA has decided against a recall of Central Valley Meats beef. I hope this does not put the matter to rest for consumers. This investigation has given people across the country a glimpse into an industry that breeds, raises, transports, and slaughters animals with systematic disregard for their welfare and for the welfare of those who consume animal products. I hope this story will make people think about the history of the meat on their plates, and I hope it will inspire them to replace that meat with food that has not been created with such callousness.

 

Bringing the Sanctuary to You: Farm Sanctuary Launches a New Website!

Posted on by

By Gene

At the gates of a Farm Sanctuary shelter, you will encounter a sign that reads, “You are now entering the animals’ sanctuary. Please remember that you are a guest in their home.” Over the years, thousands of guests have passed beyond those gates to discover a world like no other.

In the world outside our shelters, multitudes of farm animals are killed for food, having spent their brief, miserable lives unknown and unseen by the people who think of them as only meat on their plates. More than nine billion land animals are slaughtered every year in the United States alone. In the face of this overwhelming statistic, it can be hard to know how to begin to make a difference. At Farm Sanctuary shelters, however, we begin with the basics — one person and one animal, meeting each other. This simple event can motivate a person to change the way he or she lives, and when that decision takes root, it begins to change things for farm animals.  In fact, every person who chooses a meat-free life style saves dozens of land animals each year. If that same person shares his or her experiences as a vegetarian or vegan and influences others, that impact is multiplied!

That’s why we want as many people as possible to interact with farm animals — not just those who can visit our New York Shelter in Watkins Glen, our Northern California Shelter in Orland, or our Southern California Shelter near Los Angeles, but people all over the country and the world. To that end, our new website brings the Farm Sanctuary experience to web visitors like never before.

On this newly designed site, vivid photo and video galleries present life at the shelters and let visitors get to know the animals who call Farm Sanctuary home. You will observe our residents in moments of tenderness and play (not to mention mischief!), watch them heal from past suffering, and celebrate their new lives. We love caring for these unique individuals, and we’re thrilled that we’ll be able to introduce them to everyone who visits us online.

The site is also home to Someone, Not Something. This new project presents scientific research supporting what we know intuitively from working with farm animals every day: These creatures possess intelligence, emotions, and individual personalities; they have preferences; they form relationships. To illustrate these facts, we will also share the stories of more of the amazing animals who live at our shelters. Through their perceptiveness, generosity, friendship, and love of life, these animals exhibit fundamental feelings and needs akin to our own: Throughout their lives with us, farm animals know some of noblest experiences that we associate with being human.

At Farm Sanctuary, animals once fearful and feeble are transformed into strong and joyful individuals who enrich each other’s lives as herd mates, family members, and companions. When people see this for themselves, they are often transformed as well. They are inspired to change their habits, live with greater compassion, and more keenly embody their own ideals. The work of a sanctuary is not only to provide a refuge from what is harsh and unjust in the world; it is also to help all of us — rescued animals, caregivers, visitors, and friends near and far — become our best selves.
So please explore our new website and find a little sanctuary. You are now entering the animals’ home. Welcome!