Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary is a 501(c)3 non-profit that was founded in 2016 by Erin Amerman and Chris Amerman. Our driving mission is to promote compassion for farm animals through rescue and education. Another core part of our mission is to support other farm sanctuaries--we believe strongly that we are all in this together for the animals. CCFS has two facilities. The first is the original Critter Creek in Gainesville, Florida: a 210-acre farm sanctuary and wildlife preserve we purchased in 2015. Approximately 125 acres of the Critter Creek facility, with its forests and natural springs, is a dedicated wildlife preserve. The remainder is set aside for rescued farm animal residents, including pigs, donkeys, and cows. In 2019, we realized that if we're going to keep this rescue thing going, well, we're gonna need a bigger ark. So, we gave up the idea of building our dream home and instead put the money we had been saving for our dream home toward our second facility: Critter Hills, a 200-acre ranch and hay farm just up the road from Critter Creek in Alachua, Florida. This second facility has allowed us to rescue many more animals.
At present, we focus primarily on the rescue of injured, neglected, and/or abandoned cows. We have nearly 150 cows in our Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary family, which makes us the largest cow sanctuary in the country. Why cows? Well, it can be difficult to find placement for cows because they require a great deal of space, live a very long time with good care, and they eat a ton. Thankfully, with the addition of the Critter Hills facility, CCFS now has enough space to house and care for a fairly large herd. We aren’t just a cow rescue, though--ten donkeys, 20 pigs, three turkeys, 12 horses, a bison, and a very demanding water buffalo also call CCFS home. We encourage everyone to come meet the residents of CCFS and see that these animals are no different than the companion animals we all call friends. CCFS hosts monthly tours and several public events per year to facilitate such interactions. We hope that by meeting these beautiful creatures, everyone will learn compassion for them and choose to leave all animal products off the menu.
