I was a dedicated volunteer at Heartland Farm Sanctuary, driven by a deep love for animals and a belief in their mission. Unfortunately, my experience was marked by frustration, heartbreak, and a troubling lack of transparency from leadership—especially when I raised concerns about animal welfare.
When I offered solutions to the concerns I had, I was met with defensiveness instead of collaboration. I was ignored, dismissed, and eventually removed from the volunteer schedule after sharing my concerns with other volunteers. I felt like they attempted to gaslight me at every opportunity. In the end, I did not believe a word they said to try to placate and silence me.
They have no problem asking us for donations constantly and referring to us as a "community" when they want our time, money, and resources. Despite all that, it's clear to me that volunteers' voices don’t matter to them. I’ve even heard leadership refer to us as “just cleaners,” a sentiment that echoes in how concerns are brushed aside.
It’s especially painful to see figures with long histories in animal welfare standing by while this culture of ego and defensiveness overrides what should be the sanctuary’s mission: the animals.
I was an animal care/enrichment volunteer at Heartland Farm Sanctuary for about 10 years. I got to know the animals very well and formed close bonds with individuals. In the last couple years I have slowly detached from my support and involvement. I watched things change in a direction that no longer put the emotional, physical, and mental health needs of the rescued animals first. Sanctuary work is not only about getting an animal out of a dire situation, but also helping them to rehabilitate and thrive. I watched sadly as this work was put more and more to the back burner in favor of kids camps, tours, and events. There is a fine balance between keeping a safe and peaceful environment for animals who have often been abused and neglected, while also allowing the public to visit without causing stress to the residents. As Heartland is currently set up, the animals often have no where to go in their environments if they want to choose to be alone and not interact with visitors. They are on display whether they like it or not.
Heartland hired a new executive director several years ago and things have been going downhill since then. This person presents a great persona online and with donors/visitors, but is very different behind closed doors; very Jekyll and Hyde. She knows all the right words to say, but that is all they are, just words. The compassionate action I have yet to see.
Over time many of us long-time volunteers and staff noticed the animals becoming stressed, depressed, and not acting like themselves. When this concern was brought up to management, we were gaslit and expected to fall in line and keep quiet. It seemed like they wanted us to close off our instincts and hearts, and just get the work done. Many staff and volunteers have been fed up with this toxic work environment and chosen to leave. Others have been fired or encouraged to leave by management when they spoke out about concerns. People have become afraid to say anything. I chose to leave to protect my emotional, mental, and physical health. It was an incredibly hard decision, as it meant leaving the animals I love so deeply.
Heartland has been at its new location for almost 3 years now and they have yet to put up shade tents/structures for the animals. Mud pits for the pigs get hot in the summer heat. There are 3 mini pigs who live completely alone without other pig companions. These are herd animals. They were never meant to live alone. Despite these concerns being brought up, nothing has changed. One mini pig is left out in the pasture with 3 large adult cows who have horns. She could easily get injured or killed, even by accident. And these are just a few of the many concerns.
This was never supposed to be a petting zoo. It breaks my heart. I hope that Heartland Farm Sanctuary can grow in a more positive direction under new leadership one day. I appreciate those who are trying to create change while working under stressful conditions.
If you visit Heartland Farm Sanctuary, it looks like a wonderful place. If you work or volunteer there, your experience could be very different. As a former volunteer, I can attest to the fact that management treats those who disagree with management decisions very badly. Management takes suggestions for improvement as criticism. They do not evaluate a suggestion on its merits. Management is vindictive and will retaliate against those who speak out, despite the fact that they have a whistle-blower policy that condemns retaliation.
I was retaliated against by being terminated as a volunteer for speaking out against changes in focus from being primarily a sanctuary for rescued farm animals to a place providing children's camps, school field trips, and public tours using the animals as a draw. The camps and field trips are operated like a petting zoo. Kids run through the barn expecting to pet animals. They are not respectful of the fact that Heartland is the animals' home. I have seen animals react with fear to groups of people in the barn. Given that Heartland fundraises on social media on the basis that is a sanctuary for rescued farms animals, the operation of these camps, field trips and public tours are disingenuous to say the least.
As of 2024, Heartland Farm Sanctuary's mission is "to inspire compassion for animals, the earth and each other by offering a safe, welcoming space where people and farm animals come together to experience growth, healing and connection."
Though most staff members and all volunteers are dedicated to this mission with the best of intentions for the animals and people Heartland serves, the organization's leadership (including members of the board of directors, the executive director, and several other staff members) have created a culture that actively harms animals and people.
Here are some ways in which Heartland is currently failing to achieve its mission, based on my experience as a former employee and volunteer:
-Leadership does not act compassionately toward staff (e.g., forcing out staff who disagree with them; paying the executive director a generous salary while underpaying other staff; and creating an environment in which staff must work unpaid hours onsite and offsite to meet expectations while maintaining publicly that this is not allowed).
-Leadership does not act compassionately toward volunteers (e.g., forcing out volunteers who express concerns about operations; undervaluing volunteers' contributions of time and money; and offering minimal training).
-Leadership does not act compassionately toward animals (e.g., allowing animals to live past the point of suffering against the advice of veterinarians; operating more often like a petting zoo--where animals cannot choose whether or not to interact with humans--than like a sanctuary; and adopting more animals than the budget and staffing allow).
-The organization does not provide a reliably safe environment for people and animals to interact in (e.g., allowing children to interact with animals in ways that are potentially harmful to both the children and the animals; failing to report--internally or externally--injuries or dangerous incidents that involve children, staff, volunteers, or animals; and offering little or no safety training for staff and volunteers).
Staff and volunteers have shared these and other concerns with organizational leadership and with members of the board of directors many times over several years both in person and in writing. So long as the board of directors and executive director protect and insulate themselves 1) from the rest of the organization by quieting dissent and 2) from the public by offering minimal transparency, any substantial growth or improvement is unlikely if not impossible.