Difference between revisions of "Animal Sanctuaries"

Latest revision as of 01:08, 12 March 2023

Animal Sanctuaries are places that keep and support animals for the rest of their lives. They tend to be rescues from slaughterhouses, and are a great place to visit animals such as cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys, and all the other ones that are used for slaughter in much of the world. They are overwhelmingly run by Vegans, and often make a point of encouraging such a diet. Visting a sanctuary shows that animals are full of life and, while they all look similar to us, all have a variety of personalities and characteristics.

If you are able to, visiting a sanctuary for rescused farmed animals is not only an incredibly fulfilling experience, but also serves as a huge motivator for people not only go or stay vegan, but also encourages us to be more active with animal rights activism, when we see what the victims of animal slaughter are like. We realize that they are just like our dogs and cats, and how calm and hospitable they are.

While being able to save the animals that will be put into a sanctuary is great, that isn't really the benefit of having them, considering how the biggest benefit of farm sanctuaries is to have them open to people so they can interact with them and see for themselves that animals are intelligent, sentient, conscious beings and that we shouldn't harm them, which has HUGE positive effects. This is especially useful for Vegans who are struggling and need the motivation to keep being vegan. It's also a good idea to bring your non-vegan friends if you can, they'll likely be more interested in coming along with someone they know and trust, which might make it feel less guilt-trippy for them.

It may be difficult depending on where you live to visit a farm sanctuary, especially if you live in an urban area (for instance, if you live in New York City, the closest animal sanctuaries are at least an hour away), but if you ever have time and are able, it's certainly worth the trip. Just make sure you visit a sanctuary for FARM animals and not a wildlife sanctuary.

We always see tons of photos and videos of cute animals on the internet, and while they're great to see, they are no subsitute for seeing them in person (would you rather watch a video of a kitten, or play with a kitten?) as far as emotional impact is concerned. It's similar to footage of animals being slaughtered; No doubt, watching videos of animals enduring horrible cruelty is a terrifying thing to look at, but witnessing it in person is far more impactful, and a far deeper experience. It becomes much more real when you can hear the animals crying in pain right into your ears (rather than through compressed audio in speakers), smell the stench of blood and death in your nostrils, and possibly even see the animals look into your eyes while they suffer. The opposite goes too, when you visit these sanctuaries, you get to see how these animals interact with humans playfully, realize that they are sentient beings of real flesh and blood (and not mere commodities), and understand that they enjoy being alive and happy with their families, and don't want to suffer.

Animal Sanctuaries are very different from zoos. Zoos don't allow for significant interaction with the animals, and most of the animals kept there are not the ones that are traditionally slaughtered by humans in the developed world. There's also the concern of depression in animals being kept at the zoo, due to being confined in such small places their whole lives (whereas sanctuaries tend to give much larger areas for animals to roam all day). Zoos have a significantly different atmosphere than sanctuaries. In sanctuaries, since it's done out of altruism and education than out of profit, the place tends to feel more fitting for the animals to call home, and the animals are treated as family to be cared for instead of a means to make money.

However, there are some Animal Sanctuaries that are set up similar to zoos in that respect, where they forbid people from getting too close to the animals or interacting with them in any significant way. This is done out of concern for the animals, since the managers of the sanctuary are trying to not stress the animals out with visitors. While this is an honest and valid concern and we completely trust the good intentions with this, if you are a person who is running a sanctuary, we strongly discourage having a rule like this.

These places tend to be incredibly expensive to maintain (even smaller sanctuaries can cost somewhere in the $100,000 range), so when you have a sanctuary for farm animals, yet strip it of its most significant benefit, you're basically jusst running a hospice that burns through HUGE donation resources, with very, very little benefit for the animals. This is NOT effective altruism in the slightest, when the money would be better spent on an effective animal charity. Just watching animals through a cage or over a fence and forbid any and all interaction (aside from maybe the occasional petting or feeding) is nowhere close to the great experience that can be had at these places.

Remember, it isn't just about the animals at the sanctuary, it's about inspiring people to stay or go vegan. Yes, the animals may get a little stressed or annoyed when they're bothered by visitors, but in the grand scheme of things, this is a vanishingly small price to pay, considering the possibilty of it eliminating the immense suffering felt by hundreds or even thousands of animals throughout a person's lifetime. Of course, feel free to have certain rules and regulations (such as only X people allowed to interact with the cows at Y time), or making it a toured event, but never, ever bar people from being able to make a close connection to the animals; that's something so invaluable for the cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, turkeys, etc. that aren't so lucky to be on a sanctuary. THOSE are the animals in most need of your help.

Animals can become more comfortable around humans when they're given a chance to socialize with them, and give them enough time, they will come up to people. Ultimately it's best to let the animals decide for themselves whether or not they want to be touched by humans; Some animals may be a bit more shy, others will be nothing but enthusiatic when human visitors come to see them.

All in all, animal sanctuaries provide great amounts of motivation and education for the animal rights cause. Once you see how calm, friendly, and amiable the animals that we like to imprison and slaughter on a daily basis truly are, that might be the fuel you need to make the switch to Veganism. Or, if you're already vegan, might give you enough of a kick to fight even harder for those that need out help the most.