Lily
Lily was born on a Maine dairy farm in July, 2022. Deemed too small to be a good production cow, she was listed on Craigslist for $30.
The life of a dairy cow is far from the “happy cow” advertisements we are used to seeing. In order to maximize milk production, dairy cows are typically confined in small areas, and impregnated year after year, which leads to a cascade of health problems.
Contrary to popular belief, cows do not produce milk just because they are cows; they produce milk and lactate when they have babies. These babies are considered “byproducts” and are treated as such, taken away from their mom almost immediately after birth, then confined alone either to be raised for slaughter or to become a dairy cow when they are old enough. 99% of U.S. farmed animals are raised and kept in factory farms, so it is extremely likely that the milk you are drinking came from a dairy cow kept in deplorable conditions (www.sentienceinstitute.org).
Lily is one of the lucky ones! Due to her size, she was slated for slaughter but we were fortunate enough to find her a home at our sanctuary. She will never be exploited for her milk or forcibly impregnated. She will always have access to grass, sunshine, places to play and move. She spends her days eating grass and taking naps with her BFF, Ferdinand. Follow the link for 5 ways YOU can help farmed animals: https://awionline.org/content/5-ways-you-can-help-farm-animals
Ferdinand
“Ferdie” was born on the same dairy farm with Lily. He was taken from his mom right after he was born so the dairy farm could start taking her milk. Since he is a male, he is useless to the dairy industry and seen as a “byproduct”, and are discarded as such. Male calves are either fattened up for a few months, then sent to slaughter for veal or they are killed right away for their meat.
While we don’t like to pay farms for animals in order to save them, seeing these two listed at only a couple days old we knew we had to do something. After we picked Ferdie and Lily up together, they now spend everyday together enjoying the simple things in life like sunshine, grass and chin scratches. Lily and Ferdinand were the first farm animal rescues at New England Animal Sanctuary! Click the link for more information on cows used for the dairy and beef industries: https://awionline.org/content/cattle
Hank & Stella
In December 2022, we were contacted by a local family about a bonded pair of Nigerian dwarf goats that needed a forever home. Due to significant changes in circumstances, their family could no longer provide care for them. This family provided Hank and Stella a wonderful home for 3 years. They were well-loved by the entire family, bottle-fed as babies, and enjoyed an idyllic life with the family’s chickens. We are so grateful we could provide a safe and forever home to these cuties!
Marlene & Karen
Marlene and Karen came from a cruelty case in New Hampshire and were put up for adoption at the New Hampshire SPCA with the rest of their herd. Due to their shyness and wool quality, they were passed over as the rest of their goat and sheep family was adopted out. We heard their story and went to go meet them at the NHSPCA. They had already been named Marlene and Karen, which are Deirdre’s grandma and her best friend’s name, so we felt it was fated for us to go rescue these gals! While we don’t know their full story, but we do know that these ladies are very scared of humans and are just starting to learn to trust.
Sheep are used for meat, dairy and wool around the world. Based on their age and breed, our veterinarian believes Marlene and Karen were most likely involved in lamb production, where they were repeatedly impregnated and had their babies taken away for their meat. Marlene and Karen will live the rest of their lives here at the sanctuary and will never be exploited by humans again! If you want to learn more about the cruelty in the wool industry visit these links: https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/wool-industry/
https://www.idausa.org/campaign/farmed-animal/wool-cruelty/
Lily & Cece
Lily was born and orphaned in May 2020 on a family farm in Iowa. She was then raised inside another family’s home and taken on daily neighborhood walks with the family dog. It soon became clear that Lily was outgrowing the house. When the family moved to Connecticut, they found another sheep who was born and orphaned in 2020: Cece. Cece and Lily lived in Connecticut for two and half years until their family could no longer take them on their move out of state. That is when they reached out to their community in CT and found N.E.A.S. Lily and Cece joined the sanctuary in June 2023.
Ben & Jerry and Katahdin & Kineo
Ben, Jerry (Nigerian Dwarf goats), Katahdin and Kineo (Ooberhasli Dairy goats) were originally purchased to be used for a goat lawn mowing business, but due to COVID their families’ circumstances changed and they no longer had time for these goats. They were put up on craigslist several times to try and find them a new home, but each time the response was that they would be slaughtered. Luckily, the humans caring for them at the time did not want this to happen, so they waited until we could take them in and now they can live the rest of their lives here in a sanctuary. The four arrived to N.E.A.S. as a group in May 2023 and they live happily together in “Tim’s Goat Tavern”.
New England Animal Sanctuary
Non-Profit Farm Animal Sanctuary 501(c)(3)
Where We Are
Groveville Road Buxton, Maine 04093 United States