Farm Sanctuary
5 Reviews for Farm Sanctuary
This place does awesome work to rescue animals and to educate the public about the horrid realities of factory farming. Not a petting zoo, as John S. rightly notes, but a chance to rethink everything you were raised to believe about turkeys and cows, rabbits and chickens, pigs and goats and sheep and all the other creatures whom we wrongly believe exist only to give us temporary pleasure. A moving, wonderful place -- worth a day trip.
My faith in humanity is restored! I went up to the Farm Sanctuary for thier 4th of July "Pignic" celebration, a free event with hourly tours and a vegan BBQ. It was amazing. Every animal there has a story, and your tour guides tell you all about them (and where they like to be scratched and petted!). You will really appreciate how much personality and emotion each animal has. And it's so refreshing to know there are places like this and people that care enough to dedicate their lives to helping those who cannot help themselves.
The BBQ was so damn good I was a fat bastard and ate a veggieburger AND a veggiedog. There were also endless Alternative Baking Co cookies - a blessing and a curse. The gift shop is neat - they have tons of cooking & resource books, ice cream treats & snacks, and the usual t-shirts and mugs. You can get involved in the "adopt a farm animal" project here, which allows you special visiting privileges and other goodies.
The Sanctuary is about a 3-hour drive from the Bay Area, totally doable for a day. But there is a little pet-friendly cabin onsite if you want to spend the weekend.
I adore this place. Knowing the horrors that "food" animals suffer through makes you appreciate just watching these animals be animals - grazing, lounging, just roaming around and taking it easy, living a happy life. A very joyful place indeed.
The Farm Sanctuary is awesome for a number of reasons:
1. You can get up close and personal with happy animals - not a petting zoo, but an educational experience. Every animal has a story, a personality and many of them are quite hilarious.
2. The people who work at the FS are amazingly dedicated and knowledgeable about animal rights, farming policy, dietary stuff, etc. Though this place is a working operation, you can have chat up the workers as they go about their daily "chores".
3. They have a guest house where you can stay http://www.farmsanctua... with all the ammenities. After going on the tour and perhaps lending a hand with some farm work, you can jump over to Black Butte Lake and go for a swim. You can make a weekend out of it. I did.
4. Volunteering - FS will let you volunteer for a day or even for a months at a time. I did this several years ago for a month. It was an amazing month of my life that I'll never forget. They put you up in a house with several other volunteers and you work on the farm side-by-side, feeding animals, doing educational outreach, etc. Great time.
5. Finally, FS has events throughout the year like Thanksgiving dinner and various hoe-downs with guest speakers, food, etc. Check any of these out and you will be impressed.
A great group of dedicated people. An amazing experience with animals on a beautiful farm. It's a drive, but you can always stop by the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico on the way out (or also on the way in) as an added bonus.
Mmmm.... *
laura you rock! I love this place too. i was there for their thanksgiving dinner (eric marcus spoke and he was awesome) and for forth of july. Both events were excellent. You start off the day with a tour in the farm. you get to rub the pig's belly, kiss the cows, play with the rabbits, touch the turkeys, and just walk around this beautiful farm. after the tour, you sit down communal style and share a nice vegan meal with other visitors, while you listen to the speakers of that evening. i think each event is about 30 bucks. it's one of their main fund-raising events of the year. if you are low on cash, you could always get there early to volunteer before and after the event. it's definitely the way to do it.
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farm sanctuary is the nation's largest farm animal rescue and protection organization. Have you ever given a pig a belly rub...talked to a turkey...or kissed a cow? Well now you can! You can plan visits to Farm Sanctuary in Orland, CA (about a 2 hour drive from SF). I found this link on their site: http://farmsanctuary.o... There is also another great sanctuary for rescued factory farm animals in Vallejo called Animal Place which is definitely worth checking out as well (and is a little closer). Anyway, wish I could give this place 50 million stars for all of their amazing work helping to rescue and spread the word about farm animals! Pigs are smarter than your dog. Chickens feel pain just like your cat. Cows can learn their names just like your dog. They are peaceful, sentient beings with personalities and feelings and no, they don't want to live in hell and die in pain just to end up on your dinner plate. Come meet some of these animals so that you are not so disconnected from them...maybe if you cuddle a pig, you might see how special they are. I don't know, just an idea :-)
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