GFAS Co-Founder Fondly Remembered
Sadly, GFAS mourns the loss of a passionate advocate for animals, Adam Roberts, who passed on November 19, 2022. Adam was a co-founder of the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and continued to serve on the GFAS Board of Directors and Accreditation Committee until late 2021.
In addition to Adam’s devotion to the mission of GFAS, his non-profit animal welfare career took him from the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington, DC, to the role of Global CEO of the Born Free Foundation and Born Free USA. Adam also volunteered for and served on multiple non-profit and foundation boards, including serving as an adviser to the Whale Sanctuary Project and assisting the Oklahoma Primate Sanctuary.
In grateful recognition of Adam Roberts, for the significant impact he made to improve the lives of animals-in-need, the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries is honored to announce that the GFAS True Sanctuary Fund will be renamed the Adam Roberts’ True Sanctuary Fund. The Fund provides targeted, small grants for reputable sanctuaries around the world to help sanctuaries meet GFAS Standards of Excellence, improve animal welfare, human and animal safety, and sanctuary facilities. We will forever miss our dear friend, but draw comfort from knowing that we are better and stronger allies for animals because of his efforts.
Photo Contest to Celebrate International Tiger Day Closing July 20, 2023
Tigers in America and the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries are pleased to announce our fourth annual photo and video contest to celebrate International Tiger Day, July 29, 2023.
There are more tigers in captivity in the United States than exist in the wild, sadly, often kept by breeders, circuses, dealers, and private individuals as pets. Although tigers and other big cats best belong in the wild, this contest helps celebrate photos of big cats who are unable to be released, in the protective safety of true sanctuaries. The contest provides a platform for visual storytellers to highlight the plight of these animals living in captivity and promote their rescue. The contest, which aims to identify the best photo or video of a tiger or other big cat in the U.S., based on overall impact, technical photographic skill, and how well it provokes an emotional connection and portrays an individual animal’s story to the viewer, is open to all entrants.
The contest will open for submissions on June 15, 2023 and run until July 20, 2023, with winners announced on July 29, 2023. Prizes include $1,000 for the winning submission and $100 each for five runners-up. Winning submissions will also be posted on the Tigers in America and GFAS websites and social media.
For more information on the contest, including instructions on how to apply and an entry form, please click here.
About Tigers in America
Tigers in America is an all-volunteer rescue organization. Since their inception in 2011 they have rescued and relocated more than 300 tigers and other big cats to accredited sanctuaries in this country. Learn more at https://www.tigersinamerica.org/
Now Accepting Nominations for the Carole Noon and Outstanding Sanctuary Awards
On behalf of the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries Board of Directors and GFAS Award Committee, we are excited to announce that nominations are now open for the 2023 Carole Noon and Outstanding Sanctuary Awards!
The GFAS Carole Noon Award is given annually to an individual who embodies and puts into practice the GFAS philosophy of vision, dedication, and excellence in animal care at sanctuaries. The award was created in 2009 to honor outstanding contributions to the animal sanctuary field to memorialize Carole Noon, Ph.D., a courageous and innovative sanctuary pioneer and champion of chimpanzees.
The Outstanding Sanctuary Awards recognize excellence in humane and responsible animal care; professionalism and ethics; organizational sustainability; public engagement; and contributions to, and leadership within, the sanctuary field. GFAS Accredited/Verified organizations of varying missions are eligible, including sanctuaries which provide lifetime care for animals; transition and rescue centers which temporarily care for animals with a goal of placing them in adoptive homes; and rehabilitation centers which temporarily care for wildlife so that they can be returned back to their native environments. Recipients will be honored in four categories:
· Outstanding Equine Sanctuary of 2023
· Outstanding Farmed Animal Sanctuary of 2023
· Outstanding Wildlife Sanctuary of 2023
· Outstanding International Sanctuary of 2023
The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2023.
The GFAS Award Committee, which includes past Carole Noon Award recipients, reviews all nominations and makes recommendations; the full GFAS Board of Directors then makes the final selection. The award recipients are honored publicly, receive an engraved plaque, and are presented with a gift for their affiliated organization.
For full nomination requirements, evaluation criteria, and nomination forms, please see the GFAS website. For questions, please e-mail
A Sea Change for Captive Whales and Dolphins!
In a defining moment for the future of captive cetaceans across the globe, GFAS is proud to announce the publication of the first ever set of best practices for cetacean (whales and dolphins) sanctuaries.
GFAS standards for sanctuaries that care for land animals have been in place for many years. And now, as public opinion demands an end to keeping whales and dolphins in concrete tanks for the purposes of entertainment, coastal sanctuaries are being established for their retirement. The new standards are the product of our pioneering collaboration with top cetacean experts at the SEA LIFE TRUST, Merlin Entertainments, The Whale Sanctuary Project and the National Aquarium.
Like all true sanctuaries, future GFAS accredited cetacean sanctuaries will employ ethical and operational principles such as no breeding, no performances and freedom of choice for the animals. The animals’ wellbeing will always be the priority in animal care, sanctuary design and overall operations.
In the words of Dr. Lori Marino, President and co-Founder of the Whale Sanctuary Project, “Sanctuaries are one of the most important ways we can make reparations to these intelligent, beautiful animals for decades of exploitation.” GFAS couldn’t agree more, and we are grateful to our collaborators for their assistance in developing a robust set of standards aimed at respecting and improving the lives of captive whales and dolphins in true sanctuary.
Farmed animal sanctuaries face a hard truth – they can never rescue their way out of the need for sanctuary, because their potential rescues number in the billions, annually. This in no way diminishes the priceless value of their rescue work, it just means that other strategies are required to complement it.We know that sanctuaries are powerful advocates – for their own residents and more broadly for animal-kind. Their stories hold so much power to create a more compassionate world. We also know they are extremely busy. In an effort to bridge these realities, we created a monthly Farmed Animal Advocacy & Awareness Toolkit! Our goal is to unify and amplify sanctuary voices on these topics and provide a fast, easy resource they can depend on each month in their inbox. Each month the digital toolkit contains:
- Action alerts (this could be campaigns you can sign on to & share, grant opportunities, legislative updates, etc)
- Sanctuary & Farmed Animal News (news items directly relevant to sanctuaries and the farmed animal advocacy space)
- Free social media content (graphics/videos with suggested captions on important topics related to the root causes of farmed animals needing sanctuary)
This content is curated and ready to share so they have one less thing to do, making it easy to do outreach work- until one day all animals know safety and freedom.
Goat Games 2023: 17 Farm Sanctuaries, 7 Days, 1 G.O.A.T. 🐐
For the third year in a row, GFAS will sponsor the annual Goat Games, a friendly competition among 17 sanctuaries raising money for their life-saving work. Each team sports a caprine team captain (unless of course your team’s G.O.A.T. is of a different long-eared species 🐰) as well as athletes competing and raising money on their behalf. With teams across the U.S. competing and supporters emerging globally, we can’t wait to cheer them all on! Watch the action and support your favorite team August 7-13 at thegoatgames.org.
WE ARE CHUFFED!
The 2023 Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance Conference registration is open. This year’s theme is “Roaring Ahead: Charting the Path Forward After the Big Cat Public Safety Act.”
Join sanctuary professionals to learn about the work being done to protect captive big cats and the impact the Big Cat Public Safety Act will have on rescue efforts in the future.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Andrew Kushnir, “The Nomad Vet” will speak about the challenge of rescuing exotic animals from war-torn Ukraine and the long journey home for four lion cubs rescued from the illicit exotic pet trade.
Other conference sessions include:
- International rescues
- The small cat crisis
- Disaster preparedness and response
- Building your board of directors
- Donor retention and growth
Register at the following link and we’ll see you there!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2023-big-cat-sanctuary-alliance-conference-registration-658579317467.
Help Us Welcome Newly Accredited On Golden Rescue to GFAS
“In the rural countryside of the coastal range of Oregon, On Golden Rescue (OGR) has created a forever sanctuary and rehabilitation center for equines and goats. Our residents come from varied situations, some from neglected or abused backgrounds, others that are simply old and compromised and no longer “of value” to the owner while others are homeless. “No more bad days” is our credo as our residents get to live the rest of their lives in lush surroundings with top notch care and kindness.“ This statement from On Golden Rescue cannot be overstated. OGR has proven to be a safe haven for animals in need.
In addition to providing sanctuary, On Golden Rescue assists local law enforcement, county and state agencies and other nonprofit organizations with large animal rescue support, as well as ‘safety net’ programs to help keep people and animals together through hard times. This help may be in the form of hands-on rescue efforts as much of the team at OGR are experienced in large animal rescue, or by providing much needed resources such as a hay bank or access to veterinary care.
“On Golden Rescue was a joy to work with through the certification process.”, said Traci Hanson, GFAS Program Director – Equine, “Larry and his team were, and continue to be deeply dedicated to providing a high standard of care for the sanctuary animals, ongoing community support, and following best practices by the organization.”
Congratulations to Larry Boxman and his team at On Golden Rescue for achieving GFAS Accreditation!
To learn more about OGR, go to: https://ongoldenrescue.org/about-us/.