We traveled to Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in High Falls, NY, with two of our favorite animal-loving friends, former IP showroom manager Alex Lauritzen and stylist Toyo Tsuchiya, as well as Cabin Porn photographer Noah Kalina. The farm is a magical place for rescued animals that might have experienced a different fate had they not found their way to the sanctuary.
We asked Woodstock Farm Sanctuary Co-Founder and Executive Director Jenny Brown a few hard hitting questions...
Did you always know this was going to be your life's work?
Heck no. I went to film school and worked in film and tv for a little over a decade. I became more engaged in animal rights after shooting undercover video for several animal advocacy organizations. After my last assignment in 2002, after visiting a number of stockyards over a week’s time, I knew I wanted to leave my career and focus on raising awareness about the plight of farmed animals.
My first experience at a farm animal sanctuary was life-changing. Animals behave very differently when they are in an environment where they are loved and treated with kindness... where they have names, not numbers. Working for a year at that sanctuary with intention of starting my own gave me the knowledge and experience I needed to do it.
Do you feel like vegans are breaking in to the mainstream? A lot of people seem to be making the switch to vegan-diet and crediting a vegan diet to weight loss and looking great.
More people are being exposed to the horrors of factory farming and the many benefits and joys of a vegan diet which is by far a diet of denial. There is also a growing awareness about the environmental toll caused by animal agriculture which is significant to say the least.
I know your rescues are always under extreme circumstances, can you share any recent experiences?
We just rescued a number of animals.. pigs, goats, sheep from a horrible neglect case at a back-yard butcher operation where animals were sick, starving with many locked in a filthy, putrid-smelling barn in the own feces. Many were suffering from extreme parasite loads, poor nutrition and pneumonia. A group of goats arrived earlier in the summer from a seizure where dead and dying goats were found with inadequate shelter and various diseases and just recently we took in ten animals from a horrible roadside petting zoo where they lived in tiny pens with inadequate shelter and fed an inappropriate diet that has caused all sorts of ailments.
Now that you've moved into the new location, what are your future plans? The new place is beautiful and seems boundless.
The property is six times larger than our previous location so we can help many more animals in need. We also have lodging, a commercial kitchen and dining hall and various other facilities to host a range of outreach and educational events. We’re planning vegan boot camps for adults, a compassionate kids camp, a social activism retreat for youth, weddings, concerts and so much more!
View the whole editorial / donate to the sanctuary here.
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