Hilda was just six months old when she was left in a pile of dead cows, pigs, and sheep behind a stockyard. As our co-founder, Gene Baur, was documenting inhumane stockyard conditions, and as he approached the deadpile, Hilda lifted her head as if to ask for help. She recovered from her ordeal and went on to live 11 years, inspiring countless compassionate choices and prompting laws protecting “downed” farm animals (those too sick or weak to stand) from abuse.
Hilda’s story led to the first-ever cruelty conviction against a U.S. stockyard, and today her legacy lives on in all that we do at Farm Sanctuary through rescue, education, and advocacy.
