November 2025

Giving Tuesday – Save the Date!
December 2, 2025

At GFAS, we know that people like you don’t just hope animals are safe – you want to know they are.

This Giving Tuesday, your support will help us visit sanctuaries around the world to make sure every animal receives the highest standard of care for life.

Each year, our team travels thousands of miles to see firsthand how animals are being cared for at GFAS-accredited sanctuaries. During these visits, we check everything, from the food animals eat, to their medical care, to the space they have to roam and rest. These visits ensure every sanctuary lives up to what a true sanctuary should be: a place where animals are respected, protected, and never exploited again.

Over the next year, GFAS needs to complete 69 sanctuary site visits, and we need your help to make it happen. Your support this Giving Tuesday will keep these life-changing visits going, helping animals everywhere live in comfort and dignity.

You can make a difference right now by helping us spread the word:

  • Share at least 1 of our posts on social media before Giving Tuesday and add a comment about why GFAS matters to you.
  • Forward this newsletter or one of our emails to a few friends.
  • Like and comment on every post you can that we share about Giving Tuesday to help more people see our mission in action.

Thank you for helping us share this campaign and ensure every rescued animal receives the lifelong care they deserve.

 

Meet the 2025 Carole Noon and Outstanding Sanctuary Award Winners

Last month we held our virtual ceremony to present the winners of the Carole Noon and Outstanding Sanctuary Awards.  This is one of our favorite days of the year and we are always so excited to be able to showcase the work of some amazing individuals and organizations. The winners of this year’s awards are:

If you weren’t able to attend the ceremony, you can view a recording of the very inspirational and emotional ceremony here.

Sanctuary Awards Week Webinar Recordings

Leading up to the Sanctuary Awards Virtual Ceremony, we held three free to attend presentations from different experts in the animal welfare field. Topics included Identifying and Achieving Your Goals; Writing Effective Protocols; and Building Trust Online: What Your Donors and Volunteers Expect from Your Website.  All three presentations offered a wealth of information and action items you can start using now.

If you weren’t able to attend these presentations live, the recordings are available on our website.  A huge thank you again to the presenters of each of these webinars!

 

GFAS Accredited Sanctuaries Collaborate with
Humane World for Animals to Rescue Canadian Roadside Zoo Lions

Photo by Michael Bernard, Humane World for Animals

In late October, Humane World for Animals Canada teamed up with The Wildlife Sanctuary and Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge to rescue several lions, who were found at a closed roadside zoo confined and exhibiting signs of stress.

The rescued lions were transported to Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Northern Ontario, where three state-of-the-art enclosures were built to temporarily care for them. Three of the lions have since been transported to their permanent home at The Wildcat Sanctuary in Minnesota and the remaining lions are spending the rest of their lives at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas.

In 2023, the Canadian government made good on its mandate to better protect wildlife in captivity with the introduction of Bill S-15, but the bill died with the recent federal election. GFAS joins the chorus of calls for stronger federal laws in Canada to ensure no animal suffers in captivity again.

We at GFAS are so proud to recognize our sanctuaries that prove repeatedly the good that comes from collaboration. GFAS sanctuaries are gold standard and we thank them for their professionalism, leadership and overall commitment to excellence.

To learn more, please visit:

Keep Wildlife Wild | Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

The Wildcat Sanctuary Non-Profit | Sandstone, MN

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge | A Non-Profit True Sanctuary for Big Cats

 


Appreciating Sanctuaries Every Day
Last week, GFAS and our sanctuary partners, including Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance, North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance, The Open Sanctuary Project, the Pan-African Sanctuary Alliance, and Home for Horses Coalition, officially celebrated Sanctuary Appreciation Day. And while we love this official day of recognition for sanctuary work, the GFAS team celebrates this every day of the year.
Our sanctuaries know the rigorous process they go through to gain GFAS certification. What may be less obvious is that when our team performs those assessments, we are cataloging the incredible work, down to the nuts and bolts, of what it takes to provide sanctuary to animals in need. All those checks represent a deep dedication to animals that ranges from the enriching space and loving care you provide them, to the hard work of creating a stable organization that will support them for LIFE. For every protocol and document, for every fire safety measure you put in place, for every infrastructure improvement, we see love and respect in action.
So, we’re here to say, we know what it takes to offer true sanctuary to animals and we could not be more appreciative to those with (muck) boots on the ground, showing the world what it really means to care for them. Last week and every day, our team sends you our deepest respect and gratitude and is here to support your incredible work. On your hardest days, remember that you are not alone, but part of a movement that is shifting the paradigm for animals. And on your best days, we hope you get to look around and realize the incredible world you are building for them.
Love, the GFAS Team

 

Pro-tip: bird shoes for comfy feet
 

During a recent visit to Accredited Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge in NC, we noticed something funny: several birds, including turkeys and ducks, wearing shoes! We often see birds with foot wraps who are being treated for conditions like bumblefoot, but this was a fancy little bootie! Their Executive Director Lenore explained that they had found a new bootie that has been an amazing addition for their birds prone to foot issues. Not only did it make them more comfortable, but in some cases acted preventatively from foot issues getting worse or recurring. The Refuge was kind enough to share where they order these shoes, which come in a variety of sizes, are open-toed to allow ventilation and normal range of motion, have a robust construction made of neoprene and cushioning material, and are high-quality enough to last through many seasons. Did we mention they’re washable?! The Refuge handwashes them to get the most life out of the material. If your residents are suffering from bumblefoot and other foot maladies, you can check out the booties HERE.

Let us know if they help!

Certifications and Renewals

Over the past month GFAS has certified one new group and renewed two organizations!

Congratulations to all these groups!

New Certifications

Free Rein Foundation, California

Renewal

Indraloka Animal Sanctuary, Pennsylvania
Sunshine Horses, New York

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