Watch above: Erin Amerman, a vegan and self-described cow-mom, tells why she opened two animal sanctuary houses in north central Florida. (Ashleigh Lucas/WUFT News)
Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary is the largest rescue space for bovines in the U.S., according to its founder and president, Erin Amerman, a Gainesville native who grew up loving animals.
The sanctuary houses more than 180 bovines at two locations: Critter Creek off County Road 231 in Gainesville and Critter Hills off County Road 239 in Alachua City. The majority of them were spared from the meat and dairy industries, but others came from abusive situations.
“Every animal is in need, and every animal wants to live,” Amerman said. “We try to focus on the animals who are in the greatest need.”
With degrees from the University of West Florida in Pensacola and Des Moines University in Iowa, Amerman, 45, has written anatomy and physiology textbooks for 20 years.
However, she always knew she wanted to work with animals. She founded the sanctuaries in 2016 with hopes of expanding the public’s compassion for farm animals — that they might be more than just something to eat.
Critter Creek holds regular “Farmers Mookets” on the first Sunday of every month to allow the public to connect with some of the animals at the sanctuaries. Drawing between 700 to 1,500 people per event, the Mookets also feature food vendors who introduce people to different meat and dairy substitutes as well as various artists who get to showcase their work.
“They’re only getting bigger,” Amerman said of the Mookets.
As a nonprofit organization, a majority of the funding to provide refuge to the animals comes from community donations.
The sanctuaries also rescue other farm animals including pigs, horses, donkeys, turkeys and the occasional water buffalo. Just like with male cows, Amerman said, male water buffalo don't produce milk. The dairy industry treats the male buffaloes as “waste products,” she said.
The sanctuary’s first water buffalo, Seymour, was brought to Critter Hills in 2019. It now has five water buffaloes under its care, Amerman said, with the fifth having arrived on Dec. 14, 2023.
Seymour is among those animals at the sanctuary who came from abusive situations.
Watch above: Amerman talks about how rescuing Seymour was the beginning of Critter Creek providing refuge to water buffaloes. “He was also a cast off of the dairy industry,” she said. (Ashleigh Lucas/WUFT News)
The story of the Sunrise cows started in Sunrise, Florida, where roughly 40 cows were rescued in 2021 from a cruelty case.
“The animals had been absolutely left to starve,” Amerman said.
After seeing photos of the cows in dire straits, she said she couldn't leave any “moo-person” behind. The 40-cow rescue soon turned into a 50-cow group, as 10 were — she found out later — pregnant.
The sanctuary has more than 400 total acres, with half dedicated to wildlife preservation and the other half set aside for the animals, Amerman said. Each cow alone needs roughly one acre of land, making it difficult to take in more than just the “critters” in immediate danger, she said.
“They’re learning to trust us," Amerman said. "Some of them even like us a little bit, but it’s OK if they don't ever. That's not the requirement here. This isn't a petting zoo.”
Watch above: Amerman pets Ray-Ray, one of the Sunrise Cows living at Critter Hills in Alachua City. “Ray-Ray was one of the cows born here from one of the pregnant, rescued cows,” she said. (Ashleigh Lucas/WUFT News)
A lot of the 23 pigs at Critter Creek came from across the country and were raised to be killed for consumption, Amerman said. When they were first rescued, all of the pigs immediately suffered sunburn, she said.
"They had never seen the sun before because they had been in a factory farm,” she said.
Brooke Pavek, a volunteer with the sanctuary, said most of the pigs at Critter Creek are very docile and escaped some pretty unfortunate outcomes.
The goal has always been to try and help as many animals as possible, Amerman said.
"Our main goal, apart from rescue and sanctuary, is outreach," she said. "We practice what we call gentle advocacy, where we want to help people connect to the animals on a different level."
To donate or volunteer with Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary, visit crittercreekfarmsanctuary.org.