The Germeringen caretaker Petra Supica not only has a heart for animals - she also lends a hand to enable them to have a good life.
With the Hohenwart Lebenshof she has fulfilled a lifelong dream.
And also met her great love.
Germering - During the day, Petra Supica works as a caretaker in Germering.
In the evenings and on weekends, she swaps the overalls for stable clothes and the tool box for the pitchfork.
The 58-year-old founded a farm for livestock - and thus fulfilled a lifelong dream.
The dream would probably not be everyone's business.
“My sons complain that I always smell like a stable,” says Petra Supica and laughs.
That doesn't bother her - just like all the work and the fact that she fell asleep after five minutes when she allowed herself a TV evening on the sofa.
“I always wanted to have a farm,” says the native Brucker.
“But a life yard is of course much nicer.” Growing up on the former monastery grounds in Fürstenfeld, she spent a lot of time in the stable as a child.
Three years ago she bought a vacant property in Hohenwart in the southern Landsberg district and moved in with her four dogs and a few rabbits.
The first sheep came soon.
“As a lawn mower - because there is such a bunch of meadow.” On Ebay, the tall blonde woman bought her first calves, a pair of twins that were almost on their way to the butcher.
Many more have now been added.
Cattle that she bought out of tethering live in Supica's stable.
Cows that are sick or have genetic defects.
Young bulls that would have been threatened with animal transport to southern Europe or the Middle East, followed by an excruciating and short life in the mast with subsequent slaughter or slaughter.
Supica can tell the life story of each of her now 36 protégés, which is always a story of suffering.
In the meantime, inquiries and references to animals that they could take in are increasing - because the non-profit association “Lebenshof Hohenwart” is gradually becoming better known.
Often the founder and chairwoman has to say no because she has run out of space.
"Not good," replied the vegan when asked how she felt about this type of decision.
Sometimes it's impossible to make a choice - like the other day when someone sent her a photo of four Jersey cattle.
Would she like to choose one of them?
Of course she took all four.
“Otherwise they would have become car seat covers.” 20 sheep also live on the farm - and six former street dogs from southern Europe.
Werner Vogt brought two of them with him.
At first he only came over to help Petra Supica with work on the farm.
The two are now a happy couple who have just celebrated their first wedding anniversary.
Vogt used to work as a truck driver and owner of a transport company.
The 67-year-old is now retired and enjoys working on the farm.
"I don't miss a minute of the Autobahn."
Vogt used to eat countless Viennese sausages and meat loaf in service stations, but now he's vegan like his wife.
Sometimes the couple sit down with the calves in the straw, stroke their flanks and scratch their heads.
The animals are trusting, even those that were initially aggressive or fearful.
Petra Supica is convinced that more people would give up meat “if they saw the animal behind it”.
