Pickles
Pickles the pig moved home to Farmaste in December 2023. Born in the spring of 2023, he was purchased to be a show pig raised by a young girl in Southern Minnesota. She and her family fell in love with Pickles and wanted him to be able to live a full life, rather than go to slaughter when he was 9 months old as originally planned. We knew Violet needed a friend following Jeka’s passing and we thought Pickles might be a perfect fit. We were thrilled to be able to welcome him to the sanctuary life!
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Pickles is full of personality. He loves to talk to us -- he is almost as chatty as Phoebe! He knows how to sit for treats, although not for any old treats. Bananas only please! He loves human attention and is a very curious boy. He is also an excellent helper around the farm. After he finishes eating, he brings his bowl back to the volunteers himself. Sometimes he even brings Violet's bowl once she has finished. He may just be the cutest bus boy ever. He and Violet's relationship is blossoming - Pickles is determined to win her over! He is such a happy boy and makes Farmaste an even more joyous place.
Charlotte & Phoebe
Charlotte & Phoebe are piglets born April 12, 2020. At that time, slaughterhouses in our region were closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks, leaving farmers with more pigs than they have space. One of those farmers who used a closed plant surrendered two of his piglets to us. With fewer pigs being sent to slaughter and over 2,000 piglets born at his farm alone every week - there was an “oversupply,” leading to his willingness to surrender these two girls. We are grateful for his compassionate choice - he knows we are on different sides of animal agriculture issues and he chose kindness.
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In addition to saving these two precious lives, we are excited that Charlotte and Phoebe will be at Farmaste for years to come serving as reminders of this time. The time when the inner workings of our food system that are usually invisible to the public became visible. The JBS plant alone slaughters 20,000 pigs per day during normal operations. We hope that Charlotte & Phoebe inspire compassion in many more in the years to come!
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Phoebe & Charlotte are adorable bundles of energy! Phoebe is outgoing and confident, while Charlotte is more reserved but as sweet as can be. Both love to play, nap, and take a good mud wallow.
Violet & Ophelia
Violet & Ophelia have been lucky in life. Since birth, they have only known love & kindness from people. They were born and raised by an ASPCA foster home in Florida prior to coming to Farmaste.
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Their mom’s start to life was not as happy. She is a breeding sow who was rescued from the largest farm animal cruelty case in the Northeastern US. With the Westport Massachusetts Police Department, the ASPCA assisted with the rescue of over 1,000 farm animals from a 70-acre property. The conditions from which she was rescued were deplorable – many of the animals were showing signs of neglect and had no access to food or water. Deceased animals were mixed in with living animals throughout the property. These girls’ mom was one of the survivors, and the ASPCA placed her in a foster home where shortly after her arrival she gave birth to a litter that included Violet and Ophelia, and their sister Jeka who passed away in August, 2023. You can see more about the rescue here.
Please consider sponsoring one of our animals to cover the costs of their ongoing care. Thank you