She’s noticed a trend not only in Prince George’s County, but nationwide, not just in farming communities but also in residential areas.

“We’ve picked up pigs that are in someone’s backyard, we’ve picked up goats, we’ve picked up chickens, we’ve picked up hens,” Littlejohn said. “We’re seeing a lot of animals that have been abused and a lot that have been neglected.”

Safe haven

Since the animal shelter where she works is not set up for farm animals, Littlejohn has been transporting many of them to the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary for abused and abandoned farm animals and wildlife, a 400-acre refuge in rural Maryland.

She recently helped transport two pigs to the quiet refuge. They will be quarantined for a short period of time before joining the 200 other barnyard residents.

Terry Cummings co-founded the sanctuary with her husband Dave in 1996. They work with humane societies up and down the East Coast who call them when they take animals in from cruelty cases or find them abandoned.

The animal residents include horses, pigs, goats, sheep, cows, chickens, turkeys, and a variety of water fowl; ducks and geese. The animals live out the rest of their natural lives in a safe and peaceful setting, all of which is funded entirely by donations from the public.

Cummings believes most urban farmers are not aware of the responsibilities and all the time and money that goes into properly caring for farm animals.