Feed the Change for Farmed Animals

Before I say anything else, let me say that VINE Sanctuary stands in solidarity with protestors around the country and around the world who are standing up against racism and insisting that life means more than property. As an organization devoted to social and environmental justice as well as animal liberation, we have always included anti-racist efforts in our work and will continue to do so.

Since the last report, our efforts to care and advocate for animals have been complicated by Covid-19. Nonetheless, we have persisted. Despite having to close the sanctuary to visitors, we did devise protocols to allow animals in life-threatening situations to be brought to the sanctuary for no-contact drop-offs.

Rescued animals who have come to the sanctuary since the last update include 30 "broiler breeder" hens who had been scheduled to be culled and a a group of semi-feral birds seized by authorities from a local farm. The most touching rescue was when we were contacted by a man who had overheard his neighbor planning to kill an unwanted rooster. He talked his neighbor into refraining from killing the bird until he could look for a home, found us, kept the bird in his home overnight, and then brought the bird to us even though doing so required him to drive to a strange place just as our state was shutting down due to the pandemic. Arriving soon will be some roosters rescued from cockfighting and a mother and calf who were going to be sent to slaughter by a dairy.

The pandemic has put our on-site programming on hold, but we have stepped up our efforts to offer opportunities to visit the sanctuary virtually. We've also taken our humane education programs online, which teachers in search of "virtual field trips" for their students have really appreciated.

We know that you too may be struggling due to Covid-19 and/or the upsurge in police violence across the USA. We want to remind you that life at the sanctuary continues as always and to see the sanctuary as a place of refuge for you too. Follow us on social media, where we are doing frequent live streams, to tune into the world beyond the human for a few minutes each day. It can be soothing to see our nonhuman residents living their lives as usual, and it can be heartening to see animals of so many different species living together in harmony.

Of course, life as usual means that our everyday costs continue even as donations drop. Therefore we are especially grateful to you and other donors who have helped to cover the substantial cost of feeding hundreds of animals every day. Thank you again for that!

Sincerely,

pattrice

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