Kevin Bacon, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and More Celebrities Who Treat Farm Animals Like Family

In the United States, more than 65 million households have a dog and more than 46 million have a cat. However, people are less likely to choose to share their homes and lives with animals such as pigs, goats and cows. This is mainly because these animals (especially larger animals such as pigs and cows) naturally require a lot of pasture. But also because many people view these animals as farm animals. But the truth is that farm animals are just as playful, loving and intelligent as dogs and cats. Research suggests that pigs, for example, are even smarter than dogs (and possibly even three-year-old children!).

But there are a handful of celebrities who have decided to open their homes (and large amounts of land) to farm animals. Below, we've found actors, television personalities and musicians who treat their farm animals the way they deserve to be treated – as family.

Arnold Schwarzenegger/Instagram

1 Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger loves animals. He loves them so much that he has decided to share his home with six of them. He has a donkey named Lulu, a miniature horse named Whiskey, three dogs named Cherry, Dutch and Schnitzel, and a pig named Schnelly. He regularly shares updates about his growing four-legged family on social media, and last year his friend, actor Danny DeVito, told the Sunday Times that in the Schwarzenegger household “the animals are just running around everywhere.”

Kevin Bacon/Instagram

2 Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick

Actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick, who have been married for 35 years, describe their farm animals as “their second family.” They have goats, alpacas, horses and two black and white pigs named Johnny and June. Animal farming even inspired Bacon to avoid certain animal products. “I don’t eat goats anymore and I don’t eat pork anymore because I have goats and pigs,” he told People. “I love animals, they are a joy to be around and they calm me down a lot.”

Torrey DeVitto/Instagram

3Torrey DeVitto

Model and actor Torrey DeVitto (best known for her starring role on NBC's Chicago Med) has adopted several dogs in the past, but last summer she also welcomed two rescue goats into her home. “Welcome Pip and Squeak, my new rescue goats. They are the sweetest little loves who are so friendly and sociable! “I couldn’t be more excited to add her to my ever-growing farming family,” she shared on her social media in August.

PETA

4 James Cromwell

One of James Cromwell's most memorable roles was 1995's “Babe,” which was, of course, about an orphaned pig. The film changed Cromwell's life, as he decided to go vegan shortly after filming. It's also given him a new respect and love for pigs, so it makes sense that he opened his home to a piglet, also called Babe, last year. The animal had fallen out of a truck that was on its way to a slaughterhouse.

“While filming the film Babe, I had the privilege of witnessing and experiencing the intelligence and curious personalities of pigs. “This changed my life and my eating habits, so I jumped at the chance to save this real-life babe,” Cromwell said in a statement.

Tori Spelling/Instagram

5 Tori spelling

Tori Spelling's home is full of love and animals. In 2019, the 90210 star shared on YouTube that she has dogs, cats, guinea pigs and bearded dragons, as well as pigs and chickens. Spelling got her first pig, Nutmeg, and thought she was a micro pig, but she ended up weighing 95 pounds. After living on a farm for two and a half years, Nutmeg moved back to Spelling, where she now has two more pig friends. “She's really great, she's really good with the kids, the kids love her,” she said of Nutmeg in the video.

Netflix

6 Jason Momoa

Like many of the celebrities on this list, Jason Momoa has welcomed several animals into his home, including a donkey, two dogs, a snake, and a pig. He adopted the pig after filming “Slumberland,” which hits theaters in 2022. “This is why I can’t work with animals,” he said on Instagram under a video of the new companion animal. “I want to take her home.”

Tracey Stewart/Instagram

8th Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart doesn't just have pets, he has an entire animal shelter. In 2019, he and his wife Tracey Stewart, a veterinarian, technician and animal rights activist, decided to convert a 45-acre farm into a place where mistreated factory farm animals could find refuge. The couple also owns a 12-acre animal shelter with non-profit animal rescue organization Farm Sanctuary, which opened back in 2015.

“We purchased a farm in New Jersey with the intention of starting our own Farm Sanctuary with an education center, but what I'm announcing tonight is that our farm will actually be the New Jersey branch of Farm Sanctuary,” Tracey said in a statement at the time. “We will attract new advocates, new curious learners and new leaders to this very important movement.”

Mike Fisher/Instagram

9 Carrie Underwood

In 2020, singer Carrie Underwood and her husband Mike Fisher, a former ice hockey player, welcomed two cows named Brownie and Oreo to their farm. Fisher gave it to Underwood as a Christmas present.

“My husband said, 'What do you want for Christmas?' and I said, 'I'd like cows,'” Underwood said at the time. “He went and got me some cows. They are good! I mean, I love animals. Cows are probably my favorite animal because I grew up with them and I think they just have such personalities and I can’t wait to really get to know ours.”

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Charlotte is a writer and editor based in sunny Southsea on the south coast of England.