"Did you know?"

35 Moments From 35 Years of Farm Sanctuary

Claire and Erika goats

"Did you know?"

35 Moments From 35 Years of Farm Sanctuary

You're Invited!

Farm Sanctuary’s 35th Anniversary Event

Celebrate with us on October 9th! This free, virtual event is for anyone who believes in the Power of Sanctuary, in meeting cruelty with kindness, and in treating all beings with respect. Together, we’ll connect the lives of our animal ambassadors to the realities of an unjust food system while sharing a message of hope, healing, compassion, and love.

Join us!

In the past 35 years, Farm Sanctuary has touched countless lives and been a place of peace for thousands of rescued farm animals.

Through rescue, education, and advocacy, we’ve inspired change. But back in 1986, our founders didn’t know what Farm Sanctuary would become, let alone that it was the start of a movement. They just felt the need to do something to combat what they felt was a brutal and indefensible industry. It started with a sheep named Hilda—and today, Sanctuary has the power to open hearts, to inspire activists, and to change the world.

In anticipation of Farm Sanctuary’s 35th Anniversary event on October 9, we’re sharing some of our favorite “did you know?” moments! These, of course, are just a few (it was really hard to choose just 35!). There are countless stories of compassion and inspiration, generosity and love, success and defeat. Some are milestones and others just memories. But one thing is certain: with every story shared, every connection made, every bill passed, we’re changing the world for farm animals––and we’re doing it together.

There are so many victories ahead––and we can’t wait to see what’s next!

Yoda Llama at Farm Sanctuary

Yoda, the cheeky, goofy, regal, majestic, protective, looming, loving llama.

Did you know...?

1. Pre-1986, there were no U.S.-registered charitable shelters for farm animals! Now, you can find them globally.

2. Farm Sanctuary is a place where those from different backgrounds can find common ground. Cameron piglet and Scott lamb learned that they both love to play!

Cameron piglet and Scott lamb

3. We’ve confirmed that animals are someone and not something. The Someone Project explores the science behind the emotions, intellect, and social behavior of farm animals—and provides the first evidence that goats can follow human cues!

4. Farm animals demonstrate their sentience in staggering ways.
When Curly steer was dying, his beloved herd gathered to say goodbye—and mourned, standing watch over his body after he passed.

Curly's Final Moments & His Herd's Incredible Response
Download Audio

Transcript

[SOOTHING MUSIC]

5. Hilda sheep, our first rescued animal, changed the world. Hilda’s story helped reshape Pennsylvania policies on farm animal cruelty and inspired countless people to change how they view and treat farm animals.

Hilda sheep at Farm Sanctuary

6. We have been instrumental in the fight to protect downed animals. Downed animals are those who are unable to stand or walk at the time of slaughter. After NBC News aired our footage of downed animals being dragged onto trucks, the nation’s largest stockyards vowed to stop marketing downed animals, and the Downed Animal Protection Act was introduced the following year.

7. Kim Basinger presented our televised PSA, promoting our “No Downers campaign.” She did this with her new friend, Henry calf, who was rescued from a calf ranch in Southern California. Kim named him after Henry David Thoreau and wound up adopting him—she even brought out a picture of him on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno! This public service announcement was part of a larger campaign.

Signed photograph of Kim Basinger

8. Sanctuary barn pigeons are descendants of a notorious 1980s pigeon shoot. After a multi-year battle and cruelty charges, we ended the shoot—and rescued dozens of pigeons.

Pigeon at the barn

9. We originally sold veggie hot dogs at Grateful Dead concerts out of our VW van to raise money and awareness.
Gene Baur Grateful Dead concert

10. A mere twenty-five years later, we took that same VW van on a cross-country tour. We visited our old stomping grounds, met up with friends old and new, and spread the word—we even paid visits to a few factory farms.

VW van driving down a desert highway

Credit: Ben Foster

11. The fur farmer across the street from our NY Sanctuary decided he’d rather farm vegetables. We invited him to Sanctuary events and his son started volunteering with us. Soon, the farmer said, “I really don’t like killing the animals the way I do.” He closed down the fur farm and started growing and selling fruit and veggies.

12. Our first rescue space for farm animals was at a Pennsylvania tofu farm—which used to be a dairy farm.

13. We helped bring the veggie burger to Burger King. Our team persuaded the Watkins Glen Burger King to sell a veggie burger, which led to the nationwide introduction of the BK Veggie burger—and now, the Impossible Whopper!

Human in a cow costume in front of Burger King, holding a thank-you sign

14. Cows love snow! You know you gotta see it.

15. Mary Tyler Moore helped us make the world a kinder place. Mary was a true friend to animals—she lobbied at both the state and federal level, supported efforts to prevent factory farming cruelty, and chaired our “Sentient Beings Campaign.” She also narrated our 13-minute video, Life Behind Bars, which was a rare first-hand look inside factory farms.

Mary Tyler Moore speaking at a news event in 2001

Credit: Derek Goodwin

16. Farm Sanctuary backs key legislative efforts to reduce exploitation on factory farms. The list includes a lot of firsts: the first ban on gestation crates for pigs (Florida), the first ban on veal crates for calves (Arizona), and the first ban on battery cages for egg-laying hens (California). And we’re not stopping there.

17. Martha Stewart joined us in urging New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to ban gestation crates.

18. Bill Maher spoke up for pigs in this NYT op-edand Ryan Gosling chimed in from the north with a demand to ban gestation crates in Canada.

19. Youth are picking up the torch and changing the world for the animals. Our Youth Leadership Council connects middle and high school students with like-minded peers across the country. Together, they’re driving change––for example, this important article,It’s Time that We Factor Out Factory Farming, was written by one of our YLC members!

For tools and resources to support school- and community-based advocacy projects (plus mentorship opportunities!) check out our Youth Action for Farm Animals page.

Youth at Farm Sanctuary event

Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur

20. Opie overcame the odds and inspired thousands for nearly 20 years at Sanctuary. As we celebrate our 35th anniversary this year, we remember friends like Opie, whose transformative lives and ambassadorship will guide and inspire us forever.

21. Steve-O helped raise awareness about the inherent cruelty in the meat industry. He may be known for his stunts, but it was no joke when Steve-O lent his voice to the animals. In this video, he introduces someone you’ll never forget. (Warning: This video contains graphic content.)

22. Farm Sanctuary provides individualized, special medical care for animals. When given a chance, these resilient survivors can have joyful, meaningful, and impactful lives. Meet George piglet, Squid lamb, and Howard calf.

Howard calf with front legs bandaged

23. Tabitha Brown spent an amazing Mother’s Day with us—making friends, sharing facts, and showing how animals all just want love. “This is the definition of freedom right here—minding their business, living life.” – Tabitha Brown. See which Acton Sanctuary residents she met!

Tabitha Brown and family with Honkey Tonk Donkey at Farm Sanctuary

24. Animal Planet’s John Griffith spent a wild day interning here. John, host of Wild Jobs, showed the world that wildlife and companion animals aren’t the only ones who need our help.

25. You can intern (or volunteer) at Farm Sanctuary, too! Imagine yourself here.

Baby lamb touching foreheads with a smiling woman

26. You can snuggle up, tiny house-style, at Farm Sanctuary. Our tiny houses at our Watkins Glen, New York Sanctuary allow guests to stay here in all seasons, including part of winter! They’re perfect for getaways, writing/work retreats, and wintertime zen. We also have rustic cabins. (Check ahead for availability.)

Tiny House in Watkins Glen

27. You can peep at our New York Sanctuary, 24/7, via our LIVE explore.org cameras. If you’re ever in need of a moment of calm and solace during your day or night, check out our explore.org livestreams—the sheep barn is a huge favorite.

28. Kat Von D launched four makeup shades inspired by—and benefitting!—Farm Sanctuary. In 2018, talk of Kat’s limited-edition “Farm Sanctuary Collection” was on everyone’s lips.

29. Our humane education program was founded in 2017—and has been growing ever since! We’ve educated tens of thousands of students, Pre-K through college, nationwide. In 2020, we reached 21,940 students through 852 presentations in 34 states (plus D.C. and Puerto Rico). We’ve already given 901 presentations this year, so these numbers are only growing!

We’ve also created free, downloadable curricula for teachers, summer camps, and parents that meet national teaching standards. Learn more.

Humane Education Leader in front of a classroom of children with hands raised

30. Joaquin Phoenix inspired the world by rescuing a cow and her newborn. Hours after his Oscar speech, Joaquin helped liberate Liberty and Indigo. He brought them to Farm Sanctuary—and his experience at the slaughterhouse reminds us that we have more in common than we think.

Joaquin Phoenix and Gene Bauer carry Indigo calf out of a trailer

31. We rescued cows from the “Utopia” reality show—and brought them to a real utopia.

Betsy cow and Meredith calf grazing

Credit: Connie Pugh

32. We helped ban foie gras in California and New York City. Our “No Foie Gras Campaign” influenced hundreds of restaurants to pledge to no longer serve foie gras, and to convince influential chefs like Wolfgang Puck to take it off their menu. We are now working on a foie gras ban in Rhode Island!

33. One of our oldest residents and dear friends, Waylon, lived to be 33 years old. Waylon donkey was with us from 1993 until 2019. In that time, he spent nearly 20 beautiful years with the love of his life, made best friends, and inspired countless visitors. We were lucky to know him.

Waylon donkey

34. For 35 years, instead of eating turkeys, people have adopted them through our Adopt a Turkey Project. And we’re only gaining momentum—Adopt a Turkey participation has doubled in the last decade.
A screenshot of our 1986 newsletter featuring Adopt-A-Turkey

35. These 35 Farm Sanctuary animals changed the world. Warriors. Influencers. Survivors. Read about these inspiring ambassadors of compassion.

Turpentine Turkey

Turpentine turkey at Farm Sanctuary

The Power Of Sanctuary

The Power of Sanctuary
Download Audio

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] Sanctuaries are a place where cruelty is met with kindness. It's about kindness to animals. But it's also about respecting others, respecting ourselves, respecting the earth, living in a way that doesn't cause unnecessary harm.


We live at a time when there's immense oppression and strain and ugliness out in the world. And this harms all of us. The reason things are as bad as they are is because we have infrastructures and systems in place. And those need to be shifted. It actually undermines our empathy. And that's a very important part of our humanity.


For me and for many people, this begins with recognizing trauma and violence and cruelty in the world and not wanting to be part of it. These animals, like other animals, want to live. They don't want to be abused. They don't want to be killed. They don't want to be eaten. They want to live just like cats or dogs or us. We're all animals. And we all have pretty much the same desires.


I got this van in California in the early mid-1980s. We use this van to do investigations of farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses. And the way we funded the organization back in those days was selling vegan hot dogs at Grateful Dead shows out of this van. It was an open-minded crowd. And I remember on occasion, somebody would come up and stand in front of our table and look at these images and just be affected by them and start crying.


Hilda, our first rescued animal was rescued in this van who we found left on a pile of dead animals behind the Lancaster stockyards in Pennsylvania. So we took her off the dead pile, brought her to a veterinarian thinking she would have to be euthanized. As the veterinarian was examining her, she actually started perking up and then she stood up. And she lived with us for more than 10 years. And she's actually buried up on the farm right now.


It's not possible for sanctuaries to rescue all the animals who are currently being exploited and slaughtered. So we need to change the system. And farm sanctuaries play a very important role in modeling a different kind of relationship with other animals. The animals become ambassadors. And people who are touched by them can go out and educate others.


I want everyone to cozy up. My name is Jo-Anne McArthur. I'm a photojournalist. I've been photographing our relationship with animals around the world for over 15 years now. This is one of the most important things about sanctuaries that we have to take into account, you rescue animals, and you invite people to meet the individuals.


They might come here and decide to eat fewer animals, or go vegan. Or they might go out into the world a changed person. They might become an activist. How can you possibly put a dollar sign on that? You can't.


It changed me. And as I said, it set me on this path of activism for life. And I have reached millions of people now through my work because I was inspired by sanctuary.


Farm Sanctuary has been a touchstone for so many people who have gone on to do amazing activism. Some of them have founded organizations. Some travel the world exposing cruelty and educating people about what humans do to other animals.


I did furniture moving for like 16 years in the five boroughs. I knew nothing about farms, man. So she asked me, hey, can you help me with this little piglet. I fell in love like instantly. So all that Spanish stuff, eating pork my whole life went right out the window, man. Any rescues, any emergencies, yeah, I'm there for them.


So I haven't had an animal food product since the day after my heart attack. With distance from the eating machine and propaganda, I was able to kind of see, oh, there's a whole completely different way to live, ironically healthier.


It took me my first 10 years before I became a vegan for ethical reasons. Seeing them in this environment being well cared for, it can be life changing.


Part of coming here to Farm Sanctuary made me aware of these invisible animals, as I call them, and that they're not represented. We don't see them. And how can we start to consider them at all if we're not seeing them and talking about them.


Sanctuary to me just meant a safe haven. All beings deserve that. We have people who are escaping horrible situations. Animals that are escaping horrible situations and need they need that sanctuary.


Every animal should be in one, and every person too.


This part of Western New York was not too far from the roots of the Underground Railroad. And when Farm Sanctuary first got this property, I felt pretty good knowing that this tradition of liberating individuals from oppression and exploitation had been part of this area.


Providing a level of education so people can mindfully change their actions works to the goal of rescuing all the animals.


You know, Farm Sanctuary is a place. But it's also a mission. The idea is to rescue individuals and then ultimately to change the world.