In 1990, Dr. Richard Allan and Gloria Grow purchased a 100 acre farm in the Monteregie region of Quebec, about 20 minutes from Montreal.  In 1997, the property became the not-for-profit Fauna Foundation – whose primary objective was to create a protected environment for neglected, abandoned or abused farmed and domestic animals and animals from entertainment, education and research.

Original residents included sheep, goats, chickens and a few turkeys.  Shortly after, a carriage horse from Montreal named Jethro was in need of rescue from being sent to slaughter. Fauna offered him a home and its tradition of rescues was formally begun.

At one point, Fauna housed more that 200 rescued animals, most of whom were from the farming industry, abandoned “pets”, animals taken from horrible situations, dogs used in veterinary school training, animals from zoos and laboratories, including monkeys and chimpanzees, and animals rescued from summer exhibits who at season’s end would have been killed.

Today, Fauna is home to about 100 animals, the result of attrition of an aging population. By city ordinance, Fauna is no longer allowed to take “exotics” and no longer accepts new residents. However, Fauna’s life long commitment to its current residents remains strong and vital.

The residents now include horses, cows, pigs, goats, ducks, geese and numerous other birds, llamas, monkeys, chimpanzees, several dogs and cats and a donkey. Each one of them has a story…a story that helps us understand the many deplorable ways in which animals are treated including their institutionalized used for food, entertainment, research and training.

Fauna’s hope is that by helping people become more aware of the plight of these wonderful individuals, we will help people change the way they see and treat other species in our world. Fauna’s mission is to not just protect animals in its own care, but to foster an attitude of respect and an ethic of compassion, care and protection toward all animals everywhere.
We hope you enjoy meeting the Fauna family.