“C’mon,” exclaims Susie Coston, national shelter director for Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, with a swooping arm gesture reminiscent of a child rallying her friends to follow her on an exciting adventure. Six male Holstein calves, dairy farm castaways found just months earlier on a Pennsylvania farm where they had been left to die without food or water, one by one rise up on their now strong legs to follow their charismatic leader out of the barn. Truth is, Coston is simply coaxing them to rotate pastures, a necessary practice at the sanctuary, but because of the love and affection she radiates for these calves, and for the more than 500 other farm animals rescued from abuse and neglect who reside at the shelter, her call is irresistible. These sweet boys would follow her anywhere.
The sight of calves once too weak to stand bounding after Coston like playful puppies is a joy that used to be reserved only for those lucky enough to actually visit one of the organization’s bucolic bicoastal shelters located in upstate New York and northern California, but now, thanks to the launch of a new video series entitled Reel Life at Farm Sanctuary, such exclusive sneak peeks at life behind Farm Sanctuary’s barn doors will be available for anyone with a computer to see on a monthly basis.
These fascinating v-logs, part of the nonprofit’s popular “Sanctuary Tails” blog, will transport viewers straight to the beautiful, bustling sanctuaries where they will follow the activities of shelter staff and animal residents as they carry out their daily routines. In the first exciting episode, Coston explains the importance of pasture rotation and takes viewers right along as she shows the New York Shelter cattle, sheep and goats that the grass really is greener in different parts of the farm.
“We decided to do a video series because there is such abundance here at Farm Sanctuary it would be greedy to keep all these sweet, funny, joyful, and poignant moments that we witness on a daily basis all to our ourselves,” enthused Coston. “By giving viewers an up-close look at the wide range of emotions and strong friendships experienced by farm animals, these v-logs will help inspire new ways of viewing and treating these incredibly complex and intelligent beings, and hopefully move more people towards treating them with compassion.”
You can view the first installment of Reel Life at Farm Sanctuary here.
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