- I'm a city boy.
I'm from New York.
I've never seen a cow or anything like that.
But hanging out with an emu is pretty cool.
Probably won't have another opportunity
like that for the rest of my life.
(upbeat instrumental music)
(bird chirping)
- We are at the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Animal Farm
on the grounds of the detention center.
We have the capacity to have 700 inmates
in all three of our jail facilities.
This is the main jail,
and we're the only facility of this kind
in the country that has an exotic zoo at a jail.
Ready for your corn?
It started out with just farm animals,
and now I have exotic animals of all varieties.
Kinkajous are from the rainforest
of Central and South America.
(bird chirping)
That's the bird we call the I love you bird,
and he is such a camera hog.
We only take in animals that have been abandoned,
abused, confiscated, or donated.
Hi Tucker.
We don't purchase any of the animals,
and they're here for their life,
this is a forever home for them.
- I'm in here just for a year, you know,
and these guys are doing a life sentence.
- Hi Moe.
Alright Kramer.
Did I wake you up pretty girl?
Today I have four inmates.
Every day they come down here to feed, water, and clean
and then to spend time with the animals.
- What's going on buddy?
You're going to get out pretty soon.
Mandatory rec.
- The farm is one of the jobs in this facility
that you can actually be outside all day
and number two get to interact
with a bunch of rare cool animals like Kramer here.
He's got the little curl on the top of his head.
That's why we call him Kramer.
- This is Eeyore.
He was saved from a slaughter house,
and he's a lot better off.
- [Interviewer] Do you think working with animals
helps with their rehabilitation.
- [Jeanne] I've seen a lot of very positive changes.
I've seen people that come down here
and are completely scared of animals
and by the end of their time here,
many of them bring their families back
to actually show them what they were doing
when they were incarcerated.
- I'm so happy to be out here.
When I first came here, he was like not even this big.
Tiny and now look at you.
(laughs)