woodstock farm animal sanctuary

I can't believe it's taken me this long to leave a review. I guess I get caught up in all the beauty that this place has to offer. Located immediately outside the Catskill Mountains, this compassionate farm animal sanctuary cares and houses hundreds of farm animals and their friends....including but not limited to cows, goats, chickens, turkeys, pigs, dogs, cats, rabbits, sheep....Make a day out of it...or a half a day. Bring a (vegan) lunch, sit on the patio, and hang with the goats. They'll be sure to follow you and keep you company. Get your hands dirty and help maintain the housing areas or fields. Spend some time hugging or petting the animals there. It's been my place of therapy because the peace and love this place exudes is priceless and good for your mental/physical health!The staff is filled with people who dedicate their lives to making sure we live in a compassionate world. Herve is their kind hearted outreach coordinator who you may find at various events, including in NYC. So if you're interested in helping from a remote location, feel free to reach out to him! I have had the pleasure of meeting Jenny Brown (co-founder of the sanctuary). She makes her way around the beautiful property to greet visitors and/or volunteers. Feel free to chat with her...or anyone for that matter. They're all super friendly and can name almost every single animal there (still amazes me to this day!)

As a member, maybe I'm biased. But to me, there's no better place for an animal to spend it's life than WFAS. I've had tours from Herve, Doug, Jenny, Rebecca, Mike (for whom one of the cows is named), the late Shiela Hyslop (may she rest in peace), and probably at least one or two people I've forgotten. Having been a frequent visitor for a number of years, there's no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than to visit the beautiful beings at WFAS. You REALLY should also try to get to July Jamboree, as it is always guaranteed to be a great time. Sadly, I haven't been to WFAS since the July '14 jamboree, but will go on opening day this year as I often try to do. To those complaining about the message behind the sanctuary, I apologize that you feel it was either too preachy, too graphic, or too pushy. That said, I can honestly say that WFAS is the reason that my wife and I choose to lead a meat free and animal product limited lifestyle. If the sanctuary doesn't cause you to make a change, that's ok. Everyone is entitled to live their life as they wish. But don't knock it just because it makes you think outside the mainstream message we get from our national media, food providers, and government.

Visited the farm as a volunteer because the visiting season is over. This place is the real deal. It's all about the animals and their wellbeing. The care and dedication they are given is evident in the way they look. The animals are huge and soooo healthy looking. They have a B&B which is where I will stay when I return after the season starts again and you can become a member for just $30. Donations are welcome and the staff are the friendliest most dedicated people I've ever met. I fell in love with the place and was sorry I had to leave. Felix the goat with a prosthetic leg was a sweetheart and followed me all over so I could scratch his head. The farm is worth the trip and their cause is worth all support it can get. Great family trip....kids can see farm animals up close and learn about being responsible stewards of our planet and all its inhabitants. Can't wait to return.

We read numerous reviews and decided to visit.. The place is clean and friendly but the tour guide was a bit too zealous with his descriptions of how in humane farm animals are treated. One statement would have been sufficient but this guy went on and on about the entire industry and how cruel and etc.. Very uncomfortable after the first 4 or 5 times.. My wife did not want to listen anymore so I took her from the tour and we walked on our own for a short while and left.. We was quite upset for the rest of the day.. Avoid if you don't want to hear stories of cruelty and torture..

If you'll notice, the only folks giving this place bad reviews are those who clearly don't understand that the purpose of Woodstock Animal Sanctuary is not to make you feel good about continuing to eat meat while animals are being slaughtered and cruelly treated. This gorgeous, life-affirming haven for rescued animals is a testament to compassionate living. For those open to considering compassionate who still eat meat, WFAS will truly make the message come home--animals are sentient beings with personalities. The farm is gorgeous, nestled at the base of a mountain--with hundreds of well-cared for sheeps, goats, pigs, cows, ducks, chickens, dogs, cats, rabbits. You can spend your time volunteering as my partner and I did, getting a sense of farm work. Or, you can just take a tour and enjoy the relaxation that comes with being surrounded by friendly animals and people. The people who work on the grounds are super friendly and informative. We also stayed at the Bed and Breakfast, which was a truly unique and lovely experience. A 150 year-old farmhouse, now with 4 rooms. It felt like coming home--a very low key approach is adopted, with the kitchen generally open and delicious vegan meal prepared in the morning. The bedrooms were quaint and clean. We will return many times to come!!!

This is a wonderful place to visit near Woodstock. From April to October, on week-ends take their tour of the farm where you can see all the animals (many of them walking around free). This is a very nice thing to do specially with children since it is not very long and very entertaining.I also recommend staying at their B&B, very charming and homey. The staff is extremely kind and helpful!

What an inspiring place to visit! It is amazing what love and dedication can bring! Definitely worth a stop if you are in or near the Woodstock area. You will feel a different level of connection to animals when you leave the sanctuary and if not already vegan, like I am, it may inspire you!

Going upstate from NYC, the farm is on idyllic land. The drive up is beautiful, and I always love the ride through Woodstock. The farm is geared toward veganism, which I've read some reviews that stated this was a con. By reading the website, this is evident. The tour guides do go into graphic detail regarding factory farming, and tell how each animal came to live at the sanctuary. The individual stories of the rescued animals are necessary to fully understand the importance of the sanctuary and their work. I took my boyfriend to their Thanksliving celebration a few years ago, and he walked out vowing to decrease his intake of meat (which he has stuck to). While the guides are passionate about the animals that live there, they are not "preachy" and respectful of everyone's views. This is a wonderful place to visit.

Spending a couple of nights at the Guesthouse is a great idea if you want to visit the sanctuary as well as explore the Woodstock area. The inn is very nice. It's clean, the rooms are spacious and in the morning the breakfast is served in the dining room downstairs. It's vegan and it's great! The farm is the main focus, of course, very fun to walk around and interact with the animals. A+++ !

This must be the kindest place on this planet. Woodstock in general has a magical vibe with all the hippies, yoga studios and buddhist temples, but this sanctuary stands out amongst all others. It is hard to describe the positive energy and pure love that the staff has for the farm animals they help and one can see the animals give back all they can. It is important to note that the staff doesn't push any vegan (or other) agenda on the visitors but just provides information and respectfully allows everyone to form their own opinions. There is also an Inn there, which we will certainly visit soon. Visit this great place and support the animals if you want.

We visited this place on a whim thinking that we would spend an half hour and then move on to Woodstock for the rest of the day. Wrong! We spent most of the day there and if you have small children, this animal sanctuary is a must see for your family. Its a must see even if you are a seniori citizen. The sanctuary is a place where they rescued farm animals that were either ill or escaped becoming someone hamburger. The team of volunteers that runs this place not only nurses goats, pigs, cows, turkeys etc back to health but has trained them to be people friendly . There is one large white goat named Emet that goes from picnic table to picnic table begging to be pet. He was not the only friendly animal. We pet pigs, turkeys sheep etc. They also have guided tours where the guide tells you the history of each animal and how they came to the sanctuaryThe only critique I have is that the sanctually only invited guests on weekends. . Hopfully with enough donations and more public interest they will find a way to stay open all week long.

We had a wonderful visit. Excellent tour. We pet every kind of animal. The tour guide knew his stuff and was very compassionate. By the end of the tour we became members. Keep up the great work.

We love WFAS and go there as often as we can. The setting is bucolic - a beautiful farm surrounded by woods and mountains. I'm vegan and love to go there for some reinforcement of my values. Everyone who works there is super-compassionate and it comes through in the tours. Don't go if you don't want some truth bombs laid on you, but if you love animals, then you should definitely visit this heaven for rescued farm animals.

My husband took me to Woodstock for my birthday and we visited the sanctuary where I fell in love with all the animals. The sanctuary is a place where you learn about the harsh reality of how animals are severely mistreated. Jenny and staff are such wonderful caring people that give all animals the love they deserve. I hope more people open their eyes and realize being a vegan is a compassionate choice as well as a healthy one. I can't wait to go back and visit!!!

I read the book The Lucky Ones and on my next visit to NYC, I decided to make the trip to Woodstock. It was absolutely amazing and exceeded my expectations. The tour guides were extremely knowledgeable about the history of the sanctuary and you could get right in there with the animals. When I visited, I had been a vegetarian for years but after the education that I got there, I went vegan. The turkeys were amazingly friendly along with the sheep. You truly need to support this organization because they are doing amazing work. I wish I lived closer so that I could visit more often or even better--work there--it would be a dream come true.