It’s 1986, and Gene Baur is selling vegan hotdogs at Grateful Dead shows. Surrounded by the sounds of Jerry Garcia and company, Baur spends his time educating fellow “Deadheads” about the cruelties of animal agriculture, providing firsthand accounts from his investigations at factory farms, s tockyards and slaughterhouses.  Then Baur finds Hilda, a discarded sheep left for dead at a stockyard in Pennsylvania. What started as Baur’s act of compassion to save Hilda’s life transformed into Farm Sanctuary, the country’s founding farm animal sanctuary, in Watkins Glen. This year marks the organization’s 40th anniversary.  “Farm Sanctuary is a place where animals are our friends, not our food, where being vegan is normal and where everyone is welcome,” said Baur, the organization’s president and co-founder.  Currently, the organization has two locations — the original in Watkins Glen and a second in Acton, California. Situated between Keuka and Seneca Lakes, the 275-acre Watkins Glen sanctuary is home to nearly 350 animals that roam free. Notable residents include cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens and ducks. Every animal has been rescued from their original fate in the cycle of factory farming. To date, Farm Sanctuary has rescued more than 10,000 animals. Cows graze at the Watkins Glen location. PHOTO PROVIDED In the United States, nearly 10 billion animals are raised and killed for food production every year, and 99% of these animals are in factory farms. Baur and his team at Farm Sanctuary focus on animal rescue, education and advocacy to combat the abuses of animal agriculture and factory farming. The two sanctuary locations welcome between 7,000 to 10,000 visitors each year. Tucked back on a gravel road among the rolling hills of the Finger Lakes, the Watkins Glen location welcomes public visitors May through October.  “Farm Sanctuary is one of the Watkins Glen area’s most unique attractions and a tremendous asset to the Finger Lakes Region,” said Nigar Hale, executive director of the Watkins Glen Area Chamber of Commerce. “Drawing visitors from across the country, it offers an experience centered on compassion, education, and sustainability unlike any other in the region.” A tour at the Watkins Glen location. PHOTO PROVIDED Hourlong, all-ages guided tours include information about the realities of animal agriculture, with tour guides encouraging questions. During the summer, Farm Sanctuary also offers child-focused tours for ages four through 10.  The tours provide visitors the opportunity to spend time with residents like Pietro, a roughly 1,900-pound Holstein cow rescued from a dairy farm. Male calves born on a dairy farm have no purpose, as they cannot produce milk. Pietro had a broken leg either during birth or soon thereafter, and he was going to be killed until a worker on the farm advocated for his rescue at three days old. Today, Pietro is a thriving five-year-old with black speckles on his nose who is often found greeting passersby in the grassy pasture. Visitors will learn that he prefers his scratches under the chin, not dissimilar to a dog.  Guest are able to interact with the animals. PHOTO PROVIDED Other residents, like Olive the goat and her daughter Maggie, are also up for petting on tours. Depending on when the pigs last ate, they might be asleep on the hay looking for belly pats. Some of the sheep like gentle rubs behind their ears. Each resident has their own needs and desires, and at Farm Sanctuary, those needs and desires are not only acknowledged, but respected.  “The tour is a great way to learn about the history of Farm Sanctuary and to also hear the stories about the animals that are lucky enough to have a home there,” said Amy Mehnert, a three-time visitor to the sanctuary. “In spite of the traumatic circumstances that brought the animals there, it’s a beautiful place. There’s a feeling of peace and relief in knowing that the animals are safe, loved and cared for.”  The animals at the Watkins Glen location are overseen by 16 caregivers on the wellness team (including two co-managers and two vet assistants) and an additional 12 caregivers on the environment team.  The Kitchen serves up plant-based meals. PHOTO PROVIDED Aside from tours, visitors can enjoy a plant-based meal at The Kitchen or peruse the gift shop. There are also opportunities for overnight stays in the cabins and tiny houses on the sanctuary grounds, or at the nearby camping area.  Hilda, the sanctuary’s first ambassador, lived for another 10 years following her rescue in 1986. She is buried at the Watkins Glen location, and visitors finish their tour at her gravestone. The epitaph is an encapsulation of Farm Sanctuary’s mission, a place where animals have free range to live out the rest of their lives: “Died of old age.” farmsanctuary.org Helana Shumway is a Rochester-based writer who enjoys shedding light on kind humans doing remarkable things in our community. Follow her @helanashum. The post The nation’s first founding farm animal sanctuary marks 40 years in Watkins Glen appeared first on CITY Magazine. Arts. Music. Culture.. ...read more read less