Chino Hills ranchers frustrated after viral video leads to crowds on trail to animal sanctuary

Ranchers in Chino Hills are voicing their frustrations over the potential dangers facing an animal sanctuary after a viral social media video led to a sudden explosion in popularity for the hiking trail nearby.

Helen McCoy Loop is a common area in Chino Hills with multiple hiking trails, including the Eucalyptus Trail. A recent video that garnered attention on TikTok, with nearly 100,000 likes and hundreds of other comments, highlights the trail and the animals one can encounter on the way. 

Many of those animals belong to the Red Bucket Rescue and Sanctuary, which serves as a forever home to more than 100 horses, donkeys, ponies and other farm animals. Their caretakers say that each was saved from some form of abuse over the years. 

"The environment that we create for them is one of peace and tranquility and safety," said Susan Peirce, the president of the sanctuary. 

She says that their tranquility has become a challenge in recent weeks because of that viral video, which has caused the trail to see a vast increase in popularity with families and hikers hoping to get an up-close look at the farm animals. 

"We've had a lot of people wanting to feed the animals carrots, apples and throwing salads over the fence or scaring them," Peirce said. "You know, thinking that it's exciting for children to see the animals run, and that can be really dangerous for the horses and donkeys."

She's one of many in the community who never thought the trail would see so much attention. So much so that Chino Hills city leaders shared a trail etiquette reminder on their website and social media channels. 

Additionally, ranchers in the community, including Peirce, have put up a series of educational signs to help educate families that are now visiting the area. As they work with the city to try and implement some protection for their operation, she's hoping that those stopping by will keep the animals' land safe.