Mountain View Farm Animal Sanctuary - at the Inn at Mountain View Farm

Ben and Jerry, two of the cattle at the MVFAS

Cabot was rescued from a farm by a young woman just before he was to be processed for veal. She had befriended him almost since birth and called us quite upset when she learned of the fate that was planned for him. At first, Cabot was so small that he had to be kept from the larger cows we have rescued, but now more than a year later he is big and strong enough to be with them out in the large field, and he seems to like that a lot. He is the friendliest of the cows, probably because he was treated so well by the young woman who asked us to take him in.

Ben is a Holstein steer without horns. Ben was rescued before being sent away to market for veal. He was slight for the first few years, but is now quite enormous. His “roommate" was Jerry, who died from cancer a few years ago (“Ben and Jerry”).

April is the only sanctuary animal actually born on the farm. She is now 17 years old and is a white faced Hereford. She doesn’t move around too much and is shy with people (unlike Daisy).

Two Holstein heifers - April (8 years old) and June (9 years old) were born at the sanctuary. Their mother came to the sanctuary in 1991 and died 13 years later.

In October 2003, three more 6-year old Holstein steers (with horns), each weighing a ton, came to live at MVFAS. Ferdinand, Clifford and Louis came from Middlebury, Vermont via an owner surrender.

The Holstein breed originated in Holland.
Holsteins are larger than most of the other breeds of dairy cattle.
Holstein milk is lower in fat than is milk from any of the other dairy breeds.
The primary color patter for the Holstein is black and white, but there is also a red and white variety, called "Red Holstein".
Feed required for maintenance of a healthy cow or steer is approximately 2 percent of the animal's body weight in dry matter/hay per day.
The average life span for cattle is 18 to 22 years, though they can live in excess of 25 years.