The Lancaster Farm Sanctuary

Mark Snyder Jr.
3 min readMay 13, 2021

--

On an immaculately maintained farm, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, lives a legion of superheroes.

These superheroes are not wearing capes, scaling tall buildings with webs, or flying through the air with the greatest of ease…these superheroes are survivors and protectors, and they are the true embodiment of courage and compassion.

In addition to the many alpacas, chickens, cows, ducks, horses, goats, pigs, ponies, sheep, and turkeys on the farm, you will also find co-founders Sarah Salluzzo and Jonina Turzi. I would also be remiss not to mention the employees, volunteers, several cats, and a dog named Hazel, that can also be found on the sprawling property.

Salluzzo and Turzi established the Lancaster Farm Sanctuary, in 2017, to provide a home for animals that have, for one reason or another, broken free from their fate of being raised for food. These animals have survived harrowing escapes from slaughterhouse transport, near-fatal illness, abuse, neglect, as well as many other situations that seem untenable when considering the odds that were stacked against them.

For instance, meet Jean Marie.

Jean Marie is a young pig that managed to slip away from transfer to the slaughterhouse and, most likely, broke a hind leg during this initial escape. At the time of her rescue, it was determined that she had broken both of her back legs, but the second injury happened as she was lost and roaming in unfamiliar territory.

Next, meet Jude.

Jude is a cow that was born with a cleft palate and deemed improper for the meat trade. Just days after his birth, this past winter, he was kept in a small cage amid the elements and suffered from pneumonia and life-threatening infections.

These are just two stories of the residents of the farm.

Santosha the turkey, Alyssa the goat, Orville the sheep, Pumpkin the pig, Lilith the horse, and so many others, have stories that put the strong will to live on full display. Most of the residents of the farm were just days or weeks old as they experienced a life no living being should ever live.

Heroes come in many forms. In this case, they come with snouts, wings, hooves, horns and beaks. They also come as two humans doing their part to help those that cannot help themselves by showing their superpowers of compassion, protection, and empathy…things this world could use a little more of these days.

Please consider supporting the Lancaster Farm Sanctuary, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, by providing donations to help with the costs of important medical care and supplies as well as operational costs for their beautiful farm.

Visit https://lancasterfarmsanctuary.org to donate and to learn more about the Lancaster Farm Sanctuary.

--

--

Mark Snyder Jr.
Mark Snyder Jr.

Written by Mark Snyder Jr.

Mark Snyder Jr is an author, teacher, actor and animal-rights activist currently living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada: marksnyderjr.com and ellenshonor.org