Accepting Nominations for the 2022 Carole Noon and Outstanding Sanctuary Awards!
The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries Board of Directors and Awards Committee are excited to announce that nominations are now open for the 2022 Carole Noon and Outstanding Sanctuary Awards!
Nominations will be accepted until September 2, 2022. You can learn more about these awards and how to submit a nomination here.
Reminder – Photo Contest to Celebrate International Tiger Day
To highlight the plight of tigers in captivity, Tigers in America and GFAS are presenting our third annual photo contest to celebrate International Tiger Day, July 29, 2022. There are more tigers in captivity in the U.S. than exist in the wild, sadly, often kept by breeders, circuses, dealers, and private individuals as pets. Although tigers belong in the wild, this contest helps celebrate photos of tigers who are unable to be released in the protective safety of true sanctuaries.
Submit your photo entries now – the contest closes July 26! Prizes include $1,000 for the winning submission and $100 each for 10 runners-up. Click here to download the instructions on how to apply and an entry form.
Discounted Wildlife Chemical Capture Course for Sanctuary Personnel
GFAS has partnered with Dr. Mark Johnson, wildlife veterinarian, to offer the online, self-paced course, The Foundations of Wildlife Chemical Capture, at a discounted cost for personnel of GFAS Accredited and Verified sanctuaries and rescues.
This self-paced online course with support from Dr. Mark offers the most current and extensive training in wildlife chemical capture and registration includes access for a full year plus an extensive course notebook. As GFAS strives to recognize and provide support to sanctuaries and rescues located globally, this online course is a great, accessible resource for learning and continuing education. The deadline to register for this discounted course is October 15, 2022.
More information and course registration is online.
GFAS Round Tables: Next Session on Strategic Planning Is Coming!
Back in May, GFAS launched our online Round Table discussions – an opportunity for our certified sanctuaries to come together for an hour to talk about topics of importance for animal care and facility management. Following a first Round Table on volunteer programs, we hosted a second session in June on disaster planning. Regardless of location and whether the animals in their care are equines, farmed animals, or wildlife, sanctuaries everywhere have so many common goals and challenges, and we welcome the chance to learn from them as they discuss their experiences and offer suggestions to each other.
The third Round Table on the topic of strategic planning will be held on Friday, July 22nd at 2 pm EDT. An invitation email has been sent to our certified sanctuaries, but please contact us if you need the link to register.
In Case You Missed It:
Webinar on “Protecting Endangered Species: the Vital Role of Sanctuaries”
For this year’s Endangered Species Day, we presented a webinar featuring speakers from three of our GFAS accredited sanctuaries – Foster Parrots, GRACE, and Lilongwe Wildlife Centre – and learned about how they are working to protect endangered species including pangolins, gorillas, and sun parakeets. If you missed the live session, don’t worry – you can still watch the recording to learn about their important work. Visit our YouTube channel at: https://youtu.be/9TBvHjzQPDA
Reminder for GFAS Sanctuaries: Join the GFAS Sanctuary Network Facebook Group
Just a reminder that we have set up a private Facebook group for our GFAS sanctuaries – it’s a great place to meet each other and share ideas and documents! There is no limit to the number of individuals who may join from each sanctuary. Follow this link to fill out a short request to join (just your name, your sanctuary, and your position) and we’ll approve the request as quickly as we can:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/gfassanctuarynetwork
ASPCA Right Horse In-person Summit
For those with a passion for equine adoption, join us at this year’s ASPCA Right Horse Summit September 21st – 23rd, in Denver, CO. There will be a variety of adoption related topics such as: marketing hard-to-adopt horses, leveraging social media to engage new adopters, and hands-on equine management and training at DFL Harmony Equine Center. And, don’t forget the networking opportunities. This Summit is such a great way to connect with other people that face the same challenges you do. The best part, it’s free to attend!
For more information on the ASPCA Right Horse Summit, go to: https://therighthorse.org/events/welcome-to-summit-2022/.
GFAS will be attending, so come find us. We hope to see you there!
The Second Annual Adopt a Horse Month Was a Great Success
Throughout the month of May, a nationwide effort from equine rescue organizations across the United States, brought increased awareness to horse adoption. In preparation for May, ASPCA/The Right Horse provided marketing training in photography, writing equine biographies and other educational resources, increasing the opportunity for each equine to find a home. It was a success! Participating equine rescue organizations increased their adoptions by 43% over the same month last year. On the myrighthorse.org website, inquiries increased by 74%. The website users increased by 92%, suggesting a significant number of potential adopters were looking for their new equine companion among the 900 equines listed.
GFAS Verified Wild at Heart Horse Rescue in California (https://wildathearthorserescue.org/) found homes for 11 of their horses. Because of this, Wild at Heart was able help more equines-in-need on their waiting list. To learn more about this successful effort, please visit https://www.aspca.org/news/adopt-horse-month-review-whinny-ing-moment-horses
New Asia for Animals Coalition Report: Teasing as Torture
The Asia for Animals Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC) has just published a new spotlight report – Teasing as Torture. Animal cruelty extends beyond physical pain, and this report gives an overview of what is seen too often on social media platforms: videos in which “pranks” are played on animals – such as withholding food, scaring with masks, or scaring with other animals – in order to frighten them and cause distress. The report calls on social media platforms to take action against animal cruelty content, and provides information on how you can help to make this change.
You can read the spotlight report here: https://www.smaccoalition.com/smacc-spotlight
14 GFAS-Certified Farmed Animal Sanctuaries Team Up for Goat Games 2022
Here we “goat” again! In its third year running, the Goat Games 2022, hosted by Accredited Catskill Animal Sanctuary and sponsored-in-part by GFAS, has gathered 14 GFAS certified farm sanctuaries from coast to coast to raise money and awareness for rescued farmed animals.
From August 12-15, Catskill Animal Sanctuary (CAS) will be joined by 13 additional farmed animal sanctuaries located throughout the U.S. that will rally the support of animal lovers nationwide in support of their life-saving work. To register or make a donation, visit thegoatgames.org.
While the goats don’t actually compete, human athletes can sign up for an activity of their choosing – “whatever floats your goat!” – to raise awareness and funds for the sanctuary team of their choice. Participants can join this nationwide, virtual event from anywhere in the U.S.
“Covid did a number on us, as it did on nonprofits around the world,” said Kathy Stevens, Founder and Executive Director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary. “Funding plummeted overnight, while the urgent needs of hundreds of animals remained the same. So in 2020, we created The Goat Games as a way for animal lovers and athletes to support the work of farm sanctuaries and the thousands of animals who call these special places home. We’re thrilled to host The Goat Games again to raise funds for farmed animals everywhere— and that need is more urgent than it’s ever been.”
Stevens explained that not only are sanctuaries “just digging out, in year three” of the pandemic, but they’re doing it at a time when the cost of everyday supplies is through the roof. “Grain cost is up. Hay cost is up. Medical supply costs are up. The cost of building materials is so high that a contractor suggested we not build anything.”
The Goat Games is a virtual event that challenges human participants to run, walk, bike, hike, or complete any activity of their choosing to raise money for a participating sanctuary. Each sanctuary has selected a farm animal as their team captain, and “athletes” will rally behind the farmed animal representing the sanctuary they want to support.
“We want to inspire animal lovers around the country to participate,” said Stevens. “Do whatever it is that you love – whether it’s running, reading, volunteering or knitting! Once folks pick their activity, they simply invite friends and family to support them as they raise funds for their favorite sanctuary.”
In its first year, Catskill Animal Sanctuary raised over $42,000. In 2021, CAS expanded The Games, inviting nine other farmed animal sanctuaries across the country to join, as a way to build camaraderie and increase national awareness of their life-saving work. The consortium raised over $217,000 to help rescued farmed animals. This year, they hope to increase that figure to $260,000.
The participating sanctuaries in the 2022 Goat Games include:
- Catskill Animal Sanctuary – the hosting Sanctuary (Saugerties, NY)
- Alaqua Animal Refuge (Freeport, FL)
- Farm Sanctuary (Watkins Glen, NY & Acton, CA)
- Farmaste Animal Sanctuary (Lindstrom, MN)
- Heartwood Haven (Wauna, WA)
- Indraloka Animal Sanctuary (Mehoopany, PA)
- Iowa Farm Sanctuary (Oxford, IA)
- Kindred Spirits Sanctuary (Citra, FL)
- Little Bear Sanctuary (Punta Gorda, FL)
- Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge (Pittsboro, NC)
- River’s Wish Animal Sanctuary (Spokane, WA),
- Safe Haven Rabbit Rescue (Clinton, NJ)
- Wildwood Farm Sanctuary & Preserve (Newberg, OR)
- Yesahcan Sanctuary, Inc. (Arcadia, FL)
When 14 animal sanctuaries from across the nation band together to make a collective impact there’s nothing they can’t achieve. You’ve “goat to see it to believe it!” Funds raised through donations and sponsorships will support the life-saving mission of each participating sanctuary. For more information on The Goat Games 2022 including registering and/or making a donation, visit thegoatgames.org.
Save the Chimps: Bold Beginnings
GFAS Accredited, Save the Chimps, located in Ft. Pierce, Florida was founded by the late Carole Noon, Ph.D, in 1997. Dr. Noon is known for her courageous move in suing the U.S. Air Force over their treatment of chimpanzees used in research. Noon’s case prevailed and she won custody of twenty-one chimps that required a new home. Carole and co-founder, Jon Stryker of the Arcus Foundation, set about creating a one-of-a-kind chimpanzee sanctuary where the liberated chimps could experience autonomy for the first time. A large property was purchased and a single three-acre island was created that featured shelters, climbing structures and plenty of room to play in the sunshine. Soon after the chimps settled into their new home, the opportunity came to rescue an additional 266 chimps from the Coulston Foundation, a biomedical laboratory going bankrupt. Dr. Noon and Stryker embarked on the largest chimpanzee rescue effort ever, and over the course of nine years moved the chimps from the laboratory to their new island homes at Save the Chimps. To this day, these chimpanzees enjoy what it means to be cared for in a true sanctuary.
Dr. Noon’s intrepid spirit as a courageous and innovative sanctuary pioneer and champion of chimpanzees inspired the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries to establish the Carole Noon Award in 2009. The award is given annually to an individual who embodies and puts into practice the GFAS philosophy of vision, dedication, and excellence in sanctuary animal care.
New Chimpanzees in Residence!
Tonka, a 38-year-old chimpanzee that had been forced to appear in movies as a young chimp and was later caught in a legal tangle between a breeding compound and PETA, was rescued recently from a tiny basement cage by Dr. Andrew Halloran, and Dr. Valerie Kirk of Save the Chimps. The pair drove Tonka overnight from Missouri to his permanent home at the sanctuary, where he will be introduced to other chimpanzees and enjoy a more natural life on his own terms.
The rescue of the “Sunrise Seven” from the now closed, Wildlife Waystation in California is complete. Wildlife Waystation had a total of 42 chimpanzees that the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA) and GFAS accredited chimpanzee sanctuaries across the country collaborated on to provide permanent homes. All of these chimps have a history of being made to suffer in the biomedical research and entertainment industries. The “Sunrise Seven” will experience beautiful and expansive acreage to roam, towering climbing structures to explore, nutritious and plentiful food, daily enrichment, expert veterinary care and the companionship of each other and a dedicated caregiving team. Life has become much sweeter for these chimpanzees that have had so much taken from them. Dr. Noon would be proud to know that her sanctuary, beloved chimpanzees and additional chimps in need, continue to thrive under the dedicated care of the entire Save the Chimps team. To learn more about Save the Chimps please visit: savethechimps.org
Highlighting GFAS Accredited New Freedom Farm in Buchanan, Virginia
Healing Heroes Through Horses
Fittingly, New Freedom Farm celebrated July 4th, Independence Day in the United States, with their very first newsletter, https://www.newfreedomfarm.org. This equine sanctuary heals our veteran heroes and first responders through horses, providing therapeutic opportunities and peer-to-peer support. Their herd of 22 equines also includes 6 mustangs acquired from BLM holding pens. New Freedom Farm provides a safe place for veterans and equines suffering from trauma and anxiety. Equines provide people with immediate, meaningful feedback in non-verbal behavior. Their programs help people improve self and social awareness, personal responsibility, goal directed behavior, self-management, communication skills, and positive behavior all through their interactions with equines. New Freedom Farm’s vision speaks to all, “where all veterans and first responders are empowered, healthy, supported, and all equines have peaceful homes.”
In 2018, New Freedom Farm started a Color Guard. Veterans are trained to post and present Colors (national and state flags) at New Freedom Farm events and other ceremonial occasions, as a way to thank the community for their support of this program.
New Freedom Farm’s stated values are relevant and meaningful for all of us.
Community
We are committed to providing an environment in which everyone experiences a sense of belonging and worth. We honor relationships and take responsibility for fostering trust and respect.
Empowerment
We support, trust, and empower staff, volunteers, and visitors to the farm to further New Freedom Farm’s mission.
Integrity
We are trustworthy and reliable. We welcome accountability and conduct our business with honesty and transparency.
Respect
We honor the intrinsic dignity, autonomy, and worth of each person. We are considerate of other’s feelings, values, and points of view.
Diversity
We believe that society benefits from the contributions of people with diverse personal characteristics (including but not limited to race, ethnicity, religion, age, geographic location, sexual orientation, gender, and disability).
Equity
We believe that all people are entitled to respect, dignity, equality, safety, and security.
Excellence
We are committed to pursuing the highest possible standards at every level of the organization. We are committed to putting forth our personal and professional best.
Teamwork
We work as a team, achieving more collectively than individually.
Learn more about New Freedom Farm and sign up for their newsletter on their website at https://www.newfreedomfarm.org.
GFAS Renewals
Over the past month, GFAS renewed three organizations! Congratulations to all these groups!
Renewals
Bat World, Texas
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, Washington
Wolf Haven International, Washington