Brown County, Ind.– A local sanctuary nestled just outside Bloomington is not only an eco-friendly home to retired goats and chickens but has put a modern twist on advocacy for farm animals.

Alex Valdez, the farm’s director, dedicates his time to caring for the 115 goats and 98 chickens that have been saved from abuse, neglect, or the harsh farming industry.

“We show people just kind of what animals deserve to have,” said Valdez.

Along with the mistreatment of animals, commercial farms contribute heavily to climate change because of the large natural resources needed for livestock farming and their methane output. Even worse, many of the animals are quickly slaughtered once they surpass their years of production (milking for cows and goats or laying for hens).

Almost all the goats and chickens at The Goat Conspiracy were introduced as a rescue from local commercial farms. The sanctuary’s end goal is to provide a comfortable home for as many animals as they can after they are through their farming years. For Valdez, this usually means at the sanctuary, but they have successfully adopted out goats in the past.

“They’re spoiled, that’s for sure,” said Ben Walker, the farm manager.

The small staff of full-time employees handle all tasks around the farm from maintenance and office work to animal care.

Walker’s most recent act of love for his animals was constructing a second roost for their two roosters, “so they could each have their own.”

The entire full-time crew has soft spots for the animals and are happy to help spoil them whenever necessary.

Daily activities like tours and goat yoga keep the animals well entertained at the sanctuary, as well as provide funding for continued farm operations.

There is one other way the sanctuary raises funds for their daily operations, and that’s offering goat sponsorships.

Sandra Sjoberg, one of their first supporters to commit to sponsoring a goat finds it to be a unique way to show love to the sanctuary from 1,900 miles away.

Sjoberg became a fan of The Goat Conspiracy after meeting one of its employees on a cruise two years ago.

“You give a monthly donation, which I think is so important to help the sanctuary, and you get a personal email from your sponsored animal,” said Sjoberg.

This personal email includes an update on their health, what they have been up to all month, as well as a few photos.

The sponsored goats even get to show off their sponsorship status with a special collar. Valdez believes this encourages even more sponsorships because the special collars stand out to the visitors. Once they learn what they represent, they are more likely to pick a goat to sponsor themselves.

In its entirety, the sanctuary has put a new meaning to farming and raised expectations for other livestock farmers while doing so.

Valdez believes if the world could make this version of agricultural care the new norm, there would be significant impacts in climate change.

By maintaining The Goat Conspiracy, and spreading the word of eco-friendly farming, Valdez is hopeful of seeing long term, local effects in the surrounding environment.