In gratitude for a life that inspired so many of us at Serenity Farm Virginia to see animals not as property, but as fellow beings with stories, emotions, and souls of their own.
A Life of Curiosity and Compassion
Jane Goodall was passionate about wildlife and the need to respect all forms of life on Earth. She was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace, and her many honors include the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize for Nonviolence.
Jane’s empathy and curiosity for animals began at an early age. At just four years old, she showed the makings of a true naturalist when she spent nearly four hours quietly sitting in a hen house, determined to learn how a chicken lays an egg. Her family, frantic after searching for her and even contacting the police, was relieved when she returned home — so thrilled to share her discovery that they couldn’t bring themselves to scold her.
A Pioneer in the Wild
Without formal scientific training, Jane traveled alone to Gombe, Tanzania, to study wild chimpanzees — a bold move at the time, especially for a woman in science. Her groundbreaking discovery that chimpanzees make and use tools redefined our understanding of intelligence and blurred the line between human and animal.
Although she was criticized early on for her unconventional methods — such as giving animals names instead of numbers — Jane’s compassion and insight forever changed how the world studies and understands animals.
Seeing the World Through Their Eyes
Through decades of work, Jane revealed that animals experience joy, grief, love, and suffering. In her article “Farm Animals Are Sentient — and Often Sapient,” she reflected on her lifelong bond with cows and her heartbreak at the cruelty of industrial farming:
“I first met cows when I was 5 years old, on a farm belonging to my father’s family. I always loved all animals, and I remember I was so excited to see the cows, and their calves out in a big field, the mothers grazing while their calves played and frolicked. 10 years later, when I was helping on a farm in my school holidays, I learned to milk. This was in the days when the cows were milked in the morning, let out of the barn to graze all day, then came in from the fields to be milked in the late afternoon. (I remember, some time later, watching in horror as the cows’ udders were inserted into suction tubes for mechanical milking in a factory farm). I grew to love the cows I milked. I knew them as individuals, each with her own personality. And on that farm the calves stayed with their mothers at least until they were 5 months old. This was before the modern factory farms were thought of.”
Jane always sought hope. She celebrated sanctuaries that rescued farmed animals and gave them the freedom they so deeply deserved:
“Fortunately more and more sanctuaries are appearing for animals rescued from factory farms. I was lucky enough to see three dairy cows, no longer productive, that had been rescued from slaughter. As they were let out into their field they began to run, their hugely enlarged udders, now empty, wildly swinging from side to side as they threw up their heels in an ecstasy of freedom. I had a friend who had rescued one calf, and as he grew he bonded with her, and learned to play fetch exactly like a dog. She would throw the ball down a slope and the young bull would give chase, bellowing with excitement, then return the ball, butting it with his nose so that the game could be repeated – again and again. And apparently this is not uncommon. In other words, cows are playful when given the chance. Another cow laid her head on the shoulder of a friend when he played the guitar. And it is known that cows will approach to listen when classical music is played near or in their field.”
Keeping Her Message Alive
Jane reminded us that real change begins with kindness — not just in words, but in how we treat every living being. Her work opened hearts and minds.
Each day at Serenity Farm Virginia, we do our best to live by that same belief: that every life matters, and that caring for animals is caring for the earth itself. Her example encourages us to keep going — to keep showing up, to keep protecting, and to keep loving. The world is brighter because she helped us see it through gentler eyes.
Wishing you serenity and peace, Jo Bighouse.