Do Farm Animals Really Have Best Friends?

Spend enough time at Pleasant Pasture and you begin to notice something: the

Besties - Moo Puppy & Handsome Karl

animals have opinions about one another.

Some choose to eat together. Some rest side by side. Some seem to know exactly where their favorite companion is at any given moment. And, just like people, there are others they seem perfectly happy to admire from a distance.

It turns out there's science behind what we see every day.

Research has found that farm animals form complex social relationships. Cattle can develop preferred companions and may experience less stress when they're with familiar animals. Pigs are highly social, communicating with one another through a remarkable variety of sounds and learning from members of their group.

We see those relationships unfold here in quieter ways.

Barley and Buster have spent their lives together. Our cattle form their own little alliances and routines. Even the Gentlefolk cat colony has friendships, boundaries and an ever-changing social hierarchy that Sir Bill undoubtedly believes he should oversee.

Sanctuary gives us the privilege of watching these relationships develop over years.

When animals are allowed simply to live—to choose where they rest, who they approach and how they spend their days—we get to know something wonderful.

Not just a herd.

Not just a group of pigs or cats.

Individuals, each building a life of their own.

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