Austin Meyer

Apollo at the end of winter (today) ➡️ Apollo at the end of this past summer

In the winter, Boer goats like Apollo grow a dense layer of hair that acts like a thermal sweater, trapping air close to their skin to keep them warm during cold nights. As the weather warms, they naturally shed this coat by rubbing against trees and rocks.

Apollo’s winter coat (photo 3) can technically be called cashmere. Cashmere is wool from goats. However, most cashmere in the fashion industry comes specifically from a breed called the Cashmere Goat.

Through intensive selective breeding, cashmere goats produce massive yields of fiber. The annual harvesting of wool itself is a violent, high-stress process: the goats are pinned to the ground with their legs tied together while workers use sharp metal combs to rake the fiber from their skin. The moment their production wanes, around age four or five (cashmere goats can live 13+ years naturally), they are deemed unprofitable and sent to slaughterhouses to be killed for meat.

The best thing you can do for goats? Don’t buy cashmere. Don’t eat goat meat.

In 2023 I attended the NatGeo Storyteller’s Summit in Washington DC. Freelancers from across the NatGeo ecosystem gathered in the theater as filmmakers and photographers showcased their work. Animal imagery from all over the planet was projected on the big screen. Everyone looked on in awe and wonder as the stories of wolves, whales, penguins, and bears filled the room, as well as the stories of people dedicating their lives to protecting those species. When the session finished, everyone clapped their hands, exited the theater, and continued their conversations about how to protect our natural world and the animals within it, all while dining on marinated chicken breast.

That was the moment that I decided to create my new short documentary, which is now on Youtube, Maria & The Flock. The film tells the story of Maria Goller, an avian researcher with her PhD in biology, who dedicates her life to caring for the most exploited land animal on Earth: chickens.

If you get a chance to watch it, my hope is that you come away with a deeper appreciation for the individuality of a species that is bred and killed by the tens of billions each year. And a deeper respect for the people doing everything they can to care for and protect them.

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Each day her inbox fills up with animals in need of rescue. A family can no longer afford the medical bills for their beloved dog. An overrun shelter has a rooster that was dumped on their front step in a cardboard box. A wild donkey was rounded up by the Bureau of Land Management to make space for grazing cattle, and is locked away in a holding pen. An elderly horse with a severe swayback has nowhere else to go. In each message the stakes are clear. This dog will be euthanized. This chicken will be euthanized. This donkey will be sold into the meat trade. This horse will be euthanized.

For my wife Zoe, the executive director of the animal rescue nonprofit , this is the daily work. Triage. Whose life can they save? Where can they help?