Porcikomodi, the paradise where farm animals live happily

Environment · Lorenzo Brenna · 2016-12-27

The sanctuary in Magnago, a stone's throw from Milan, offers a new life to animals rescued from slaughterhouses or seized, and allows visitors to experience empathy first-hand.

For so-called "farm animals" — that is, those raised for a utilitarian purpose, such as to produce meat, milk, wool or leather — existence is marked from birth: their fate is to be exploited until death, and then replaced. And yet there is another way: to live peacefully, in contact with nature, fulfilling their species-specific needs. Where? At the Porcikomodi sanctuary in Magnago.

Capra che bruca da un albero — Beyond concretely saving lives — those of the residents of such facilities — the goal of sanctuaries and refuges is to show visitors what the animals we normally consider food are really like © Giulia Brenna

A new vision

This animal refuge stands a short distance from Milan and offers shelter and a happy life to animals rescued from slaughterhouses or seized by authorities, who in this small corner of paradise no longer have to meet any human demands and are free to manage their own lives. We went to see for ourselves this strange and magical place where human beings, who for centuries have exploited animals, now work for them. Sara D'Angelo, president of Vitadacani onlus, the association that brought the Porcikomodi project to life, guides us through the sanctuary. "The sanctuary is the animals' home," Sara warns us. "When we enter, we are in their home, and we do so on tiptoe. The animals that want to come close and interact with us do so; those that don't are free to keep their distance."

How did Porcikomodi come about?
The Porcikomodi project was born within Vitadacani in 2000, with the aim of breaking down the wall of silence that makes the exploitation of other animals possible. We decided to create the sanctuary so as not to focus exclusively on dogs — we manage two dog shelters, the Arese dog park and the dog park on the edge of our sanctuary. Initially this facility housed only "ordinary" dogs; then the Cerbero Project was launched, dedicated to animals with behavioural difficulties, whom we work with alongside a vet and a behaviourist.

Who are the residents of the sanctuary?
The sanctuary occupies an area of approximately 40,000 square metres owned by the association, and houses around a hundred sheep and goats, 25 "classic" farm pigs, five Vietnamese pigs, two wild boars that came from a seizure, and six cattle. We also have three female donkeys — Rosalia, Giulietta and Ciuffo Bianco.

Where do the animals come from?
Our philosophy is clear: animals are not purchased. The majority come from seizures — Porcikomodi, and Vitadacani more broadly, is an association with a formal agreement with the Municipality of Milan for the seizure of large stray animals. Other animals have been freed from slaughterhouses and farms by activists and left outside our gate. We don't ask where they come from; they may have been redeemed through negotiation or a deal, given as gifts, handed over, taken from those who exploited them, or freed by any means from suffering, slavery and domination. We let the animals live according to their own nature; none are imprinted, except in exceptional cases, such as a lamb that arrived very young and that we weaned ourselves.

Three of the five Vietnamese pigs at the sanctuary. In Italy the popularity of these animals is growing, but not everyone is able to look after them — they require space, given that they can reach 100 kilograms in weight © Giulia Brenna

It is clear that pigs are intelligent, and equally clear that they are condemned to miserable lives in industrial piggeries. The parallel with a dog locked in a wardrobe is fairly accurate, however generous. The environmental arguments against consuming pork produced in intensive farming are impeccable and overwhelming, writes Jonathan Safran Foer © Giulia Brenna

Watching the animals we are used to eating or exploiting play happily and express their true nature is an incredible experience. The image shows a donkey vigorously rubbing its back on the grass with great pleasure © Giulia Brenna

The sanctuary's animals get through a large quantity of hay. For this reason the initiative Una balla per un amico was launched — for 50 euros it is possible to donate a bale of hay for the animals © Giulia Brenna

The animals at the sanctuary come from slaughterhouses or have been seized from private individuals. What matters is not entering into any economic relationship with those who keep them captive and regard them as meat to be sold by the kilogram. Animals are not commodities — animals are not for sale © Giulia Brenna

At the Porcikomodi sanctuary animals are no longer seen as mere products — each one of them has a name © Giulia Brenna

The animals sleep in small separate stalls, both for safety reasons and to make it easier to monitor them and ensure they all eat. The photo shows the pigs' stalls © Giulia Brenna

Peppo is a pig-wild boar hybrid; he was an orphan and was picked up as a piglet in Liguria by a young woman who weaned him and then brought him to the sanctuary. He arrived when he was very small, and quickly became the sanctuary's mascot © Giulia Brenna

Willie is a bull who escaped from a slaughterhouse and lived free for months, roaming around Friuli. He was uncatchable — they even called in Maremma cowboys to capture him. When they finally managed to catch him, he was brought to the sanctuary. At first he was extremely angry; now he still has a surly character but is improving day by day © Giulia Brenna

Biba, one of the volunteers at the Magnago sanctuary, strokes Peppo. At the sanctuary, to make up for millennia of hardship, the animals simply rest. Hence the project's name: Porcikomodi © Giulia Brenna

At the sanctuary animals cannot reproduce — males are neutered. The young animals present, like this lamb, arrived at Porcikomodi when they were very small © Giulia Brenna

Porcikomodi seeks to concretely rescue individuals from the slaughterhouse and the meat industry and its by-products, while at the same time raising awareness of the dreadful living conditions of these same animals in those places © Giulia Brenna

How do you sustain yourselves?
We organise visits to the sanctuary; the visits are free but visitors can leave a donation. Once a month during the summer we organise fundraising picnics, and for the rest of the year we hold monthly dinners. Many people usually take part, and we present our project to them. We also launched the initiative Una balla per un amico — for 50 euros it is possible to donate a bale of hay for our animals. Together with the many small sanctuaries that have sprung up across Italy in recent years, we have managed to create a network, known as the Rete dei santuari. As in every sector, including the social sector, if you create a network you are stronger. In order to keep animals we had to register as a farm — precisely what we are trying to fight against; we are now seeking to obtain at least legal recognition as a sanctuary.

What impact does it have on visitors?
The sanctuary allows visitors to build a relationship with the animals and to experience empathy. Each animal is an ambassador for its own species, telling us in eloquent silence, better than a thousand words ever could, what its life should be like — and almost never is. These are animals that most people, born and raised in cities, have never had the chance to see. Pigs, for example, are special animals — highly intelligent and very curious; goats are great playful creatures; sheep, even when they come from different flocks, have an innate sense of community.

Do you take in every animal that arrives?
Unfortunately we have space constraints, so there is a very long waiting list. When a new animal arrives, it is not simply thrown into the mix — we introduce it gradually so that it integrates in the right way.

Gli animali brucano e giocano nel prato comune — The sanctuary's resident animals coexist in harmony. In the afternoon, the gate is opened to give access to the large meadow shared by all the animals. Goats and sheep get along well together; cattle, however, are kept separate because their size means they could inadvertently crush other animals, such as the Vietnamese pigs © Giulia Brenna

Watching dozens of animals of different species playing, running, grazing or simply resting, in this small, utopian reality, instils a gentle sense of disorientation and reminds us of what these creatures truly are and what we too often forget — unique individuals in the world, just like you and me.