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The times are changing! A year ago, Mike Lanigan, a third-generation cattle rancher, had a change of heart and decided he simply didn’t want to kill the cows on his farm. So he stopped! Mike converted what was once a meat-and-produce business in Ontario, Canada to a vegetable crop farm! Not only that, but the former cattle farm is now a non-profit animal sanctuary called Farmhouse Garden Animal Home. Amazing!

“I just thought it was hypocritical to give so much love, and then you can shut the door at the end,” Mike shared with CBC.


Mike recalls trying to get a premature baby calf to nurse and that’s when it hit him: why he is doting over this animal so much, only to send the calf to slaughter later on?

Today, Farmhouse Garden Animal Home is a safe haven for 31 cows, three horses, three chickens, and one duck.

As part of the farm’s sustainability efforts, the manure from the cows is used to fertilize the 40-acre farm, producing certified organic and delicious vegetables!

The switch to an animal sanctuary has been met with cheers from animal lovers, but the other animal farmers in Mike’s neighborhood are not as understanding. “Right now, I think farmers feel under attack. There’s a lot of really strong animal activism going on … I didn’t realize all of these nuances to running a sanctuary, to saving my cows,” Mike told CBC.


Even if some of the neighbors frown upon Mike’s vision, one thing is certain: all of the animals on Farmhouse Garden Animal Farm are now cherished and will never know the horrors of a slaughterhouse. Truly commendable!

Interested in learning more about this wonderful sanctuary? Check out the below video to meet some of the animals!

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“Anyone can open their heart to animals. Even a multigenerational cattle rancher,” Farm Garden Animal Home proudly states on their website. If you’d like to help the sanctuary, please consider making a donation.


And be sure to share this wonderful news with all of your animal loving friends! You can follow Farm Animal Home on Facebook to stay up to date on their incredible work on behalf of animals!

Image Source: Farmhouse Garden Animal Home/Facebook