Cedarville Rescue Farm Gives Abused Animals A Second Chance

By: Gavin Schweiger, Follow South Jersey Assistant Editor

CEDARVILLE, NJ ­— In December of 2021, hundreds of animals, including cows, goats and roosters, no longer had an owner.

The elderly man who owned them died of COVID-19 without anyone knowing.

After a few weeks, a neighbor noticed a dead goat. With no way to contact him, the cops were called to check up on the man.

The animals were left alone and going hungry, until rescue sanctuaries stepped in.

Among the four organizations that took animals in, Cedarville’s Freedom Farm Animal Rescue announced that it took in 11 roosters and a cow, now named Holly.

Animal abuse, neglect, hoarding, and homelessness are not uncommon sights for Freedom Farm, where around 300 animals now live according to Jamie Castano, who started the farm with his now wife, Tara Castano.

A large assortment of animals resides on the 43-acre property, including cows, goats, tortoises, roosters, and parrots among many other species.

Before all this, however, Jamie Castano was a dog trainer, then rescuer. The Castanos rented five acres in Mays Landing, where they fostered dogs, then hosted their own dog rescue. They started getting involved with their local animal shelter.

One day, a different request came in. There was a stray pig that stayed in a shelter for a few months, and another rescue organization asked the Castanos if they could take it in.

They took in the pig. After that, others from the community looked to the Castanos to take in different animals that needed the help.

“The farm part of it started out as more of a hobby,” Jamie Castano said. “You know, we rescue dogs, but look, we have these rescue farm animals as well. And in doing that, we realized there was more of a need for that kind of rescue than there was for another dog rescue.”

Caring for hundreds of animals

At a certain point, five acres were not going to be enough. After some moving around, and then establishing the non-profit in 2016, Freedom Farm Animal Rescue found its home in Cedarville in 2018.

The property has walking trails and large animal enclosures. Each enclosure, according to Jamie Castano, is more than big enough to accommodate their residents, and has indoor space so they can shelter from inclement weather.

Taking on the task of caring for animals of different species, backgrounds and personalities can be a daunting task, but the Castanos find it fun. They collaborate with veterinarians, do their own research, and figure out the puzzle of taking on a new animal.

There are even times when animals’ needs will change over time as they age or get used to their new environment. The Castanos work with their veterinarians to assess issues and make changes.

“We have a horse that’s starting to get older and maybe starting to lose a little bit of weight,” Tara Castano said. “They said to change the feed up, and then it’s like they’re looking like a brand-new horse just with a feed change.”

With large enclosures, the animals also get the choice to interact with visitors.

“I don’t ever want anybody to think this is a petting zoo,” Jamie Castano said. “You’re here for them. They’re not here to entertain you.”

However, if animals do come up to the fence, visitors are free and encouraged to interact with them, whether feeding them with food from the farm, or petting them.

Many of the animals are curious to newcomers, but some like to keep their distance. One horse, Gracie, came from a cruelty case and was “terrified of people,” according to Jamie Castano.

To help Gracie, she was given a stall to feed from where she was enclosed. Over time, she learned that her new home was safer and became more accustomed to people.

“Now when we have visitors, she’s the first one at the fence. She wants apples. She wants to be pet. She loves being groomed,” Jamie Castano said. “So, I think it’s all those individual accomplishments for the success stories of the animals that are here.”

Rescues come from “all over the place.” Freedom Farm works with state police, prosecutors’ offices, local police departments and other rescues, which will contact the farm to take in animals facing cruelty, neglect, or “owner surrenders” when people can no longer take care of their animals.

The farm takes as many animals as they can and works hard to provide homes and the proper care for them. However, the task is easier said than done.

Running a Rescue

When Freedom Farm moved to Cedarville, there was only the house and barn at the entrance. The Castanos built everything else with the help of their third board member, Glenn Truscio, along with people and companies that volunteered time.

Volunteers, like Rebecca Martin, help with projects, maintaining the farm and caring for the animals.

“It’s not just coming in and feeding them,” Martin said. “You get to see and appreciate all that Jamie and Glenn do here. All the feeding and nonstop cleaning and cleaning and cleaning.”

Donations keep the farm afloat, but getting money is a complex challenge.

“I feel extremely lucky. I mean, in the 10 years we’ve been doing this, we’ve seen so many rescues pop up and disappear. Just, you know, funding is extremely difficult.” Jamie Castano said. “With what we do, there’s never enough money.”

With a lot of money coming from donations, trust and transparency are also issues Freedom Farm had to work with.

In October, Delaware Animal Services shut down and arrested the owner of an animal rescue operation for over 200 standards violations and cruelty charges. In 2024, police seized almost 100 malnourished dogs from a self-proclaimed rescue.

Since animal rescues may not always live up to their missions and can become cruelty cases themselves, Freedom Farm opens to the public every Saturday for people to see what they do.

According to Jamie Castano, money goes to cleaning and maintaining the farm, buying feed for the animals, vet care and grooming, as well as building new fencing and enclosures. For 29 pigeons, six emus, 30 pigs and eight cows among many more, costs add up quickly.

The Castanos and Truscio do not compensate themselves with donations and work, although running the farm is a large responsibility.

Freedom Farm takes a lot of their donations online through their Patreon, though they also hold events and drives. Recently they held a pumpkin drive to give unused pumpkins to feed animals, a “paint and sip” event with coffee and a local artist, and most recently a Christmas event with Santa Claus and tractor tours.

Some donations of $250 and over have gone to sections of new fence for cows. In return, Freedom Farm gives the donors plaques to display messages on their section.

The community engages with the events and the farm. Some, like Yahaira Battiata, visit often. Having moved from Florida, she wanted to find a similar animal sanctuary to one she used to visit.

“I like that kind of mission and I like to support,” Battiata said.

Eric Wurtzel visited the farm with his wife and children for the Christmas event. Although it was cold and rainy that morning, the kids wanted to be there.

“The minute we mentioned this farm, they were like, ‘Yeah!’ Got so excited. They love hearing about this farm. They love coming here,” Wurtzel said.

People appreciate the walkability of the trails, interacting with the animals, and the care that the animals get.

Hard work for a good cause

Rescue farms are not an easy type of organization to run, but despite the challenges, Freedom Farm Animal Rescue looks to continue improving and moving forward.

“I want to keep Freedom Farm growing, not in the sense of more and more animals or, you know, more and more enclosures, but just reaching people and helping us fund this place,” Jamie Castano said.

The farm cannot take every animal, but they keep a network of other rescues and organizations that help each other.

“I’ll tell them, ‘Well, where are you located? Let me see if I can help you,’” Jamie Castano said. “Because if I can’t help them directly, I still care about this animal and I want to help this person place them anywhere I can.”

Jamie Castano also believes that the work is hard, but gratifying.

“I love the everyday, the care part of it, the cleaning part of it. Just spending the time with the animals, I do love that part of it. So, I’ll never stop that part of it,” Jamie Castano said. “I’m out here with our team doing this part every day.”

There is never an end to the work and the projects either, including new fencing, new enclosures, social media posts, and all the other behind the scenes work that goes on at the farm.

One of the more recently finished projects is a two-part enclosure built for roosters saved from a cockfighting case in Washington state.

The roosters were in bad shape, and they were used and trained for aggression and fighting, so putting them with the many other roosters on the property would spell disaster.

To keep them from hurting other roosters, the enclosures are secluded and divided to keep the two away from each other and even have a two-door entry system to keep them from slinking away when people need to get inside.

Jamie Castano noted how large the enclosure for each rooster was, and how people have asked, “All this for one bird?”

For him, and for Freedom Farm Animal Rescue, rehabilitating and giving every animal they take in the best treatment they can is the goal.

“I mean, after all they’ve been through,” Jamie Castano said. “Don’t they deserve the absolute world?”

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