The Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary

The Sanctuary Cows

If you walk down the hill at the Black Sheep towards the rooster orchard, you will meet our small herd of friendly cows. Iris is a long-term residents, who were rescued from an organic dairy farm along with her friends Lily, Poppy, and Hazel in 2010. They were hand-reared, confident and friendly, loving to try and give any passing humans a lick!
Shortly after their arrival, they were joined by Sirius, a gentle ex-bobby calf with a white love heart on his forehead. He was destined to be sent to the freezing works, but thankfully he was saved, and found a safe home with us! He is now large and handsome, enjoying life with his cow friends.

Gypsy and Struan also arrived and joined the herd. Since then, Gypsy, Lily, Poppy and Hazel have moved in pairs to new homes with lots of lush grass, and Iris, Struan and Sirius continue to be our friends at the Black Sheep.
Dairy Farming

In 2023, there were nearly six million dairy cows in New Zealand, and the numbers are steadily increasing, as milk production climbed to over 21 billion litres in 2015.  Even though Iris, Poppy, Hazel and Lily came from an organic dairy farm, organically raised cows are still treated as milk producing machines - similar to the rest of the dairy industry. 

Nearly two million bobby calves were killed in 2021 so that we could drink their mothers’ milk. They are loaded onto crowded trucks for the exhausting, terrifying journey to their deaths.  Around twenty percent of all dairy cows are killed annually, usually because their milk production has declined, or because they failed to become pregnant. Most New Zealand dairy cows are killed at eight to ten years of age, even though cows can live to the age of twenty-five.
Intensive Farming

New Zealand dairy farming practices are also becoming more intensive, and herd numbers are steadily increasing. In 2016, over 600 herds numbered more than a thousand cows each. On many farms, large numbers of cows are kept in small paddocks, where their hooves compact and degrade the soil.

Farmers try to counteract with soil degradation by pouring on urea-based fertilisers to encourage grass growth. Cows living in such conditions are prone to digestive problems, and other health issues. They are valued merely as economic production units.

This will never happen to the small herd of loved cows who live at the Black Sheep, a vegan human space. They are lucky – they will live out their natural lives safely in the company of their friends.

How to help cows



Make a general donation towards care for our cows. Just $10 buys a
bail of hay!

Subscribe to our mailing list to find out about working bees where you can meet the Sanctuary cows.

If you don't live in the lower North Island, please get in touch so we can let you know about other sanctuaries who rescue cows

Sponsor a cow or herd of cows at the sanctuary
Sponsor an individual cow at the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary
Sponsor a herd of cows at the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary
Don't consume dairy goat products!

Cow Profiles


Introducing Struan

Our splendid Struan began life as a much-loved pet. However, when her caregivers were unable to care for her any more, she was in danger of being slaughtered. Fortunately she and her friend Gypsy found a new home at the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary. Full of character and personality, she settled in well, and is firm friends with the other cows.


Introducing Sirius

Sirius is a young Holstein-Friesian with a white love heart on his black forehead. Holstein-Friesians are the most popular milking cow in the world. However, male calves do not produce milk, and are routinely sent to slaughter shortly after birth. Sirius was rescued when he was only a few days old, and arrived at the sanctuary, where we bottle-fed him. Now he is a large healthy boy, who has formed a strong friendship with the other sanctuary cows.