FARM ANIMAL SANCTUARIES MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD

The public is inundated with food company ads portraying farm animals in pastoral scenes, grazing cage-free in plush, green meadows under the warm afternoon sun surrounded by their offspring...

The reality is dairy cows have their offspring forcibly removed from them at birth, with male calves immediately removed and sent to slaughter as they are considered useless by dairy farmer, pigs are trapped in gestation crates so small they are prevented from standing or turning around, and so-called, free-range chickens are confined in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions unable to move freely, see daylight or fulfill basic natural behaviors.

Yet here we are in 2023 and these horrific factory farms still exist in this state. And this year, one of CT Votes for Animals’ legislative priorities is opposing HB 6726, The Regulation of Livestock and Certain Rabbit Processing Facilities. The bill proposes a program that will expedite the killing and processing of rabbits for food. If passed, this legislature’s action will establish yet another factory-farm in Connecticut and kill thousands of rabbits annually.

In the last several years, Connecticut has been moving the bar forward and establishing farm animal sanctuaries and rescuing these animals from dairy farms, slaughterhouses, hobby farms, and from abuse and neglect cases seized by the state.

Here are two Connecticut farm sanctuaries making a difference in Connecticut’s burgeoning farm animal sanctuary movement, the JP Farm Animal Sanctuary and The Kindness Matters Farm Sanctuary.

Britt Bosse is a fine art animal photographer and animal rights advocate from Connecticut. In 2016, she became involved in animal rights activism and volunteering at animal sanctuaries. Through her volunteer experiences, she was given the opportunity to photograph some of the sanctuary animals. It was then she found her true passion in photography. She now photographs both rescued animals and wildlife, with a mission to raise awareness for the ways in which humans have a negative impact on animals and how we can create positive change. In 2023, she will be opening for canine portrait bookings. Photo by