What did I do for the 4th of July? I went to the farm sanctuary! The farm is locted just outside of Orland, in northern California. The Independence Day celebration is an annual event at the farm where they give free tours and free food.
My friend and I arrived at about noon and took off on a nearly hour-long tour. The first stop was the “special needs” animals, a pasture with cows, sheep and goats. Some of these animals had arthritis because of their weight. Almost all of them were very friendly, with the exception of a few that would run away if you came too close. We also walked through the pig barn and peered into the chicken barn, duck and goose hatches, turkey barn, and the rabbit barn. It’s such a great experience to see (and touch) an animal that is cared for, loved, and not forced to do anything. After the tour, back at the “People Barn” the staff served up veggie dogs and sausages, chips, popsicles, cookies, lemonade, watermellon, and ice cream bars - all totally vegan. The whole farm is vegan, including all the staff an interns living on it.
The Farm Sanctuary began as a safe haven for animals raised for food. There are two sanctuaries, one in California (300 acres) and the other in New York (150 acres, about.) The animals at the farm have come from a variety of different situations; one piglet jumped off a transportation truck headed to slaughter; the first animal, a sheep named Hilda, was saved from a dead pile; authorities often utilize the sanctuary when there are animal abuse cases in town; or sometimes, animals are simply dropped off out front. In any case, the sanctuary provides a safe place for the animals to live out their lives. Kudos!!
If you are interested in visiting the sanctuary visit http://farmsanctuary.org/ to get more information about their sanctuaries, philosiphies, animals, annual events, and campaigns.
P.S. Pictures from the sanctuary will be coming soon!
