Calendarlive.com

The menu? Food for thought

Farm critters don’t have to worry about their future at the Animal Acres shelter.

It’s a typical day at the animal shelter - Bagel is getting a good belly rub. Roscoe and Kirby are receiving pats and scratches on their heads. And Sophia and Precious Moment are being softly stroked as they nestle closer to humans.

Dogs? Cats? Bunnies? No, they’re farm animals, namely pigs, cows and turkeys - and they’re having a great time. These and other critters roam, snort, cluck and bleat freely at a new 25-acre rescue shelter devoted to caring for farm animals.

Animal Acres opened its doors last fall and has since welcomed 150 creatures to its bucolic pastures in Acton, 45 minutes north of Los Angeles. Here, animals that were once destined for slaughterhouses, factory farms or lives of indentured servitude are treated with a fond familiarity that’s usually reserved for conventional pets.

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The shelter’s proximity to Hollywood and vegetarian celebrities has certainly helped the cause, with actors such as Daryl Hannah and Persia White visiting and endorsing the facility. In fact, supportive actors such as James Cromwell, Jorja Fox and Charlotte Ross have received high honors from the shelter by having pigs named after them.

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