When Erin and Chris Amerman purchased a 210-acre farm near Gainesville, Florida, in 2015, they had no idea how much their rescue efforts would grow. A year later, they turned it into Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary. They started with three rescued cows. By 2019, they had expanded their mission by acquiring Critter Hills, a 200-acre ranch and hay farm in nearby Alachua. Today, the sanctuary spans three properties totalling 420 acres and cares for more than 180 cows, alongside donkeys, pigs, horses, a bison, a turkey and a water buffalo. The sanctuary is more than a haven for rescued animals. Of the original property, 125 acres are dedicated to wildlife conservation, while monthly tours and public events help visitors connect with farmed animals!
The rat who changed everything
Erin Amerman’s road to rescue started with a rat. She was seven, and her mother had finally agreed to let her have her first pet. Erin wanted a hamster. During a visit to the pet shop, she realised that the hamster she picked up wanted to pee on her. Another wanted to bite her. A third only wanted to run away from her as fast as it could. That was when a young woman working at the shop asked if she had ever considered a rat. Erin and her mother were surprised. They wondered whether rats made good pets. The woman told them that rats were gentle, intelligent animals that rarely got a fair chance because people assumed they were dirty and dangerous. Erin held one, and he was sweet. But he did pee on her! Guess which animal came home? Not the hamster, but the sweet little rat she named Templeton! Besides peeing on her, Templeton also taught her something priceless: how society treats two species of animals differently. Hamsters are welcomed into homes, while rats are often feared or rejected. This very incident led her to co-found Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary with her husband, Chris Amerman, in 2016.
They started with three cows
Erin met Chris Amerman at the University of West Florida in 1995. Two years later, they exchanged their wedding vows. Chris, who has always been an animal lover, gave up animal products shortly afterwards. While they were in medical school, the couple started volunteering at a no-kill shelter. They began rescuing cats and dogs, and they never stopped.In 2015, they purchased the original 210-acre Critter Creek farm and wildlife preserve near Gainesville, Florida. A year later, they founded Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary, a non-profit organisation that began with three rescued cows. It is a farmed-animal sanctuary, wildlife refuge and community organisation. “Our mission is to foster compassion for all animals through science-based rescue, outreach and conservation,” they state on their website. Today, it has grown into the largest bovine sanctuary in the US, with three facilities totalling 420 acres. The land has become a home for animals that had nowhere else to go. Keeping a rescue running takes space, and space costs money. In 2019, the Amermans gave up the dream house they had been saving for. Instead, they put that money towards Critter Hills, a 200-acre ranch and hay farm in Alachua. “We realised that if we’re going to keep this rescue thing going, well, we’re gonna need a bigger ark.”
The rescues
Pic credit: Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary
Today, Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary is home to more than 180 cows, making it the largest cow sanctuary in the country. People have asked them why they focus on cows, and they have a reason. Cows need a lot of room, live a long time with good care and require plenty of food. Many rescues simply can’t take them. Critter Hills gave the sanctuary space to care for a substantial herd, and cows now make up most of its residents. In 2021, the sanctuary took in roughly 40 cows from a neglect case in Sunrise, Florida.Cows are not the only animals rescued here. The sanctuary is home to 10 donkeys, 26 pigs, one turkey, 12 horses, a bison and a ‘very demanding’ water buffalo. “We encourage everyone to come meet the residents of CCFS and see that these animals are no different from the companion animals we all call friends.” The couple hosts monthly tours and annual public events to facilitate these encounters. They hope that meeting these animals will inspire people to treat them with compassion and leave animal products off their plates.
