The need for donations is on-going!  Please consider making a financial contribution to help the animals at Maple Farm Sanctuary. MFS is a registered 501(c)3 charity and your contribution is 100% tax deductible.

Please mail checks to:
Maple Farm Sanctuary
101 North Ave, Mendon, MA 01756

Thank You For Making our Yard Sale Fundraiser a Success!

Thank You to our amazing volunteers who generously donated their items,
homemade cupcakes, drinks, smoothies and time to our yard sales on May 2nd and June 6th. Both days were beautiful and we had a great turnout!  All proceeds directly benefitted the animals of MFS.

We rely entirely on your generosity to continue providing a safe haven for the animals living at Maple Farm Sanctuary and for the new animals who are in urgent need of our help. By making a donation you will help us to provide veterinary care, improve housing, feed and maintain a happy life for the rescued animals living at Maple Farm Sanctuary.

Please help us by making a donation!

Welcome Summer!

Lucky's condition often keeps him inside during the cold, winter months, but now that summer is here, and the ice is gone, he is free to enjoy the the sun and warmth of the great outdoors. While out on the farm, he enjoys grazing and keeping a close eye on all of his pals!

Meet Lucky.  There is a breed of horse that humans have created- the miniature. They’re adorable and have a loving attitude. Unfortunately, they suffer from an extremely high birth rate of dwarfism. Some breeders choose to euthanize the miniatures who are born with dwarfism, others find homes for them hoping they’ll receive good care.

Just like dwarfism in humans, there are varying degrees of dwarfism in the miniature horse. Lucky suffers from dwarfism and has various musculoskeletal defects, the most obvious being his front hooves and his overbite. The problem with his hooves is often mistaken for neglect, for not being trimmed properly. In reality, the bones in his hooves are turned outward, only allowing the hooves to grow sideways.

Lucky was rescued from a local miniature horse breeder who had left him to die in a pen with many other neglected miniatures. Because we were acquainted with these people, we asked if we could take Lucky. Looking at him then was heartbreaking. He was young, weak, skinny and had a bloated belly from parasites. After some negotiating, we were allowed to bring Lucky to MFS. We immediately began a working program that consisted of gradual, healthy feeding and scheduled a visit from the veterinarian to examine his feet. The x-ray confirmed the deformity. Unfortunately, his legs will become arthritic and painful. We will continue to provide him with a high-quality life and continue his relationships with the llamas, goats and his favorite friends, Jonathan and Piggy Wiggy.
 

We Need To Farm The Soil, Not The Animals
By Cheri Ezell-Vandersluis
Co-founder of Maple Farm Sanctuary

We recently received a local farm publication from the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, Inc. and after reading it, I had a knot in my stomach.

In the first paragraph there was this sentence..... "American agriculture, your farms are in the sights and under attack by animal rights advocates and by environmentalist". You are "more dangerous than Al Qaeda" when it comes to keeping animals for our food supply according to one environmental lawyer".

Jim and I have certainly made some serious life changes. We do consider ourselves to be Animal Rights Advocates and Environmentalists, but Al Qaeda? We believe that our planet will only be sustained by plant based agriculture and by preserving as much land as possible.

In our opinion, humane farming is not an option if we are to attain a compassionate, peaceful, loving society. Ideally, this would all happen tomorrow. Realistically, this will take education of the young and old. Just as 4-H has and is teaching countless children how to raise farm animals only to be ultimately taken for breeding and slaughter. We want to give children (and adults) the chance to continue the natural love and bond we all once felt for all sentient beings....not just dogs and cats.

That leads me to another quote from this article.... "Animal husbandry must seek to improve keeping and caring for animals and we must continue to improve the methods of preparing, storing and distributing our food supplies". The "quality" of life of farm animals throughout the world is a tortuous, miserable, sad and unnecessary one. Besides the fact that other sentient beings suffer at our hands, it’s those hands causing the suffering that is equally frightening. These humans have gone beyond a disconnect of compassion to accepting, as normal behavior, a variety of cruel and inhumane treatment that is also translated to how we treat one another.

Nearing the end of the article it says "Becoming more productive is not a goal, it is a necessity. Restricting or reducing those that feed the world is more than shortsighted. It will become the most destabilizing force in the world population. We have the need and we have the desire to do more and better for the benefit of everyone". To a point, we agree. Improving our organic, plant based agriculture truly is important. Increasing an animal based food supply will be suicide for all, the facts are there. To name a fraction of deadly issues are Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (Mad Cow Disease), man made
pollutants (growth hormones, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers) and the shear volume of land consumed by farm animals and their manure.....they have been researched and documented most notably by the United Nations in 2007.

Our desire is not to eliminate the farmer. Our desire is to help in the rapid evolution to a plant based agriculture.

The closing line of this article says "We must continue to engage, and we must succeed". Yes, we must engage...and educate. Our planet's survival depends upon all of us succeeding and embracing a cruelty-free, plant-based agriculture.

Uta striking a pose! 
Our turkeys, Uta and Dieter, came from a poultry breeder at a local fair. A friend of Maple Farm Sanctuary was at the fair and observed harsh and inhumane treatment of these and other birds. These sweet birds are the same type who end up on Thanksgiving tables. They have been bred to grow as big as they can, as fast as they can. Because of this, we’ll always need to feed them a low fat diet. As they learn more about their diet options, we’ll be able to feed them fruits and vegetables. Also, they are curious and might peck. It can hurt sometimes, so watch your fingers!

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