Summer has arrived! This time of year brings longer days, shorter nights, and exceedingly warmer temperatures. For the rescued farm animals who call our sanctuaries home, summer means napping in chamomile fields, dustbathing in the shade, and running at dusk through the pasture.

It also prompts vital animal healthcare like sheep shearing. That’s right, Farm Sanctuary’s wooly friends are naked.

As farmed sheep are bred to produce excess wool, shearing prevents them from overheating, removes itchy plant matter, and relieves them of an enormous extra weight. Their new hairdos leave them light, free, and ready for the summer heat!

In celebration of the season ahead, here is a special collection of summertime photos — capturing our rescued farm animal residents in their daily lives at sanctuary.