New Grant Opportunity Helps Cover Veterinary Costs
The new Urgent Needs Grants Program from Lady Freethinker offers two grant opportunities to those needing help covering veterinary program costs for animals.
The Animal Crisis Grant covers veterinary bills up to $5000 on a rolling basis. The award is available to small NGO’s internationally to help cover medical costs incurred in the last 6 months.
The Critical Care Grant “supports organizations that are planning or currently working on a project that involve medical services and medical supplies. Examples: a spay/neuter program; a new shelter that needs medical equipment and oversees medical care.” Spring recipients included both equine and farm rescues, with another award cycle coming up in the Fall. The next application deadline is September 15, available internationally to NGO’s, with an award up to $10,000.
To find out more, visit https://ladyfreethinker.org/urgent-needs-grants-program/
Please Join Us June 11th to Celebrate Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day!
GFAS and NAPSA (North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance) are once again partnering to celebrate Animal Sanctuary Caregiver Day! GFAS and NAPSA established this event in 2017 to recognize and highlight the important work of animal caregivers – the caring and compassionate heroes – of animal sanctuaries, rescue centers, and wildlife rehabilitation centers worldwide.
Stay tuned to GFAS and NAPSA social media during the week of June 7-11, 2021. We’ll be posting announcements on Instagram and Facebook, sharing suggestions to honor animal caregivers, as well as having a few fun giveaways. We look forward to “seeing” everyone online, and we thank you, your caregivers, and everyone on your team for the wonderful work you do, every day, on behalf of the animals in your care.
Big Cat Public Safety Act Introduced in the U.S. Senate!
For animal advocates in the United States, it’s time to contact your federal representatives and ask them to support the Big Cat Public Safety Act – BCPSA (H.R. 263 / S. 1210) to protect wild animals and communities. The legislation prohibits the ownership of big cats like lions and tigers, and makes it illegal for exhibitors to allow cub petting opportunities to the public.
Private ownership of big cats raises significant public safety, animal welfare, and conservation concerns. It is estimated that thousands of big cats – including lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, and cougars – are privately owned and held captive in inhumane, and unsafe conditions. Cub-petting operations cause irreparable harm when they separate cubs from their mothers and make them available to be handled by paying visitors as a form of entertainment.
The BCPSA is the result of tireless work by animal protection organizations, advocates and constituents across the United States. This could be the year it finally passes! Now, is the time to build momentum for this legislation by urging U.S. Congressional Representatives to support H.R. 263 & S. 1210. Learn how to identify and contact your Members of Congress here: Contact Us | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
Volunteering to Help Sanctuaries Help Animals!
After a challenging year, we are excited to see that some of our members are again able to welcome volunteers on site, and hopefully more will soon be able to as well. To support their efforts, GFAS is seeking information about current volunteer and intern or extern opportunities, which we will put into a searchable document to share with the public on our website and social media. In addition to raising awareness of our members’ wonderful work, we hope this will bring them new supporters as interested animal lovers look to find their perfect match among volunteer opportunities worldwide. Members can look for an email with a survey link to send their information, or it can be sent directly to .
Endangered Species Day is May 21st
According to the latest estimates, around 37,000 species of flora and fauna are currently threatened with extinction, with the number of critically endangered and endangered animal species increasing each year. May 21st is the sixteenth annual Endangered Species Day, a day to learn about endangered and threatened species and ways to protect them. Many of our member sanctuaries care for a range of endangered species including apes, elephants, big cats, parrots, and more, providing them permanent homes or preparing them so they can be returned to the wild. Check our listing of GFAS sanctuaries, and we hope you will consider making a donation to one or more to observe the day.
#AdoptaHorse Month is here!
GFAS Accredited and Verified US Equine Welfare Organizations are shining a spotlight on their adoptable equines this month. We are only able to highlight a few of the amazing adoption programs of our GFAS equine organizations, but we celebrate them all, for all they do for animals.
GFAS Accredited – Days End Farm Horse Rescue, MD
Congratulations to Sage and her new family. Days End has found the perfect match for this adopter and this horse, and are certain these two will have decades of friendship ahead of them! Visit DEFHR.org/meet-the-horses to learn more about their adoption process and all of their horses available.
GFAS Accredited – Colorado Horse Rescue
This is Myles in his adoptive home with his new family. As soon as his people walked through the barn door of Colorado Horse Rescue, they knew this Haflinger pony was meant to be part of their family. Happy trails Myles!!
GFAS Accredited – Equine Rescue and Adoption Foundation, FL
Doing their part with The Right Horse and ASPCA in celebrating #AdoptAHorse, ERAF introduced Mason on their social media. Mason is a handsome Registered Thoroughbred Gelding born in 2012. He is a Chestnut and stands at 14.2 Hands. Mason arrived at ERAF alongside his mother Tech Cat, and he is likely to find his people soon.
Meet more of their adoptable horses at ERAF Horses
GFAS Accredited- Kentucky Equine Adoption Center
Meet Will’s Hayday, a 2007 15.3h Bay TB gelding. Will is a beautiful Thoroughbred who has been at the Kentucky Equine Adoption Center for a few months. He has progressed through KyEAC’s training program and has a solid foundation of groundwork training. He walks, trots, and canters in the round pen with and without a line. Will is a people horse and always comes up to the fence for attention. To learn about KyEAC’s adoption program, visit KYEAC.
Sanctuary Highlights
Farm Sanctuary, Shaking the World
“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Whenever we see this quote, sanctuaries come to mind. While many animal protection organizations engage in advocacy and aim to change the world for animals, the subtler, perhaps gentler approach used by sanctuaries feels genuine while harnessing a quiet power. It’s obvious to most that sanctuaries save lives, their residents are always first priority; but groups who spend time on thoughtful advocacy expand that life-saving potential far beyond sanctuary grounds.
In this vein, Accredited Farm Sanctuary has had a busy year. Their top-notch animal care is rivaled by their expertise in telling their residents’ stories to serve the greater good. That engaging storytelling was recognized last month when Farm Sanctuary’s social media was nominated for a Webby Award, the “internet’s highest honor” according to the NYT. At last check, voting showed them tied for first place. Winners will be announced May 18 – but the nomination alone is reason for celebration, as it’s indicative of a huge shift in how society views farm animals and sanctuaries alike.
Beyond social media, Farm Sanctuary has managed to engage a number of influential celebrities to champion their cause, notably Joaquin Phoenix, who helped arrange a rescue of a mother cow (Liberty) and her calf (Indigo) from an LA slaughterhouse one year ago. Late last month, the rescue footage was made into a mini-documentary called Indigo, named after the rescued calf. As Phoenix visits them after a year in sanctuary, he marvels at their openness to people – a revelation of the lessons animals can teach us about resilience and forgiveness, as well as a testament to the transformative power of sanctuary. Watch the mini-documentary below. It is moving without being graphic, educating in a way that we think will shake the world.
Bat World: Rehabilitating Bats and their Reputation since 1994
GFAS Accredited, Bat World in Weatherford, Texas was established in 1994 to provide a permanent sanctuary for non-releasable bats that have been injured, orphaned or rescued from research, zoos and the exotic pet trade. The sanctuary houses several hundred permanent residents and rehabilitates and returns to the wild thousands of bats each year.
It all began in 1988 when Amanda Lollar discovered an injured bat on the sidewalk and so began her journey to learn how to rehabilitate the little animal she named, “Sunshine.” The story of this influential relationship is documented in Amanda’s book, The Bat in My Pocket, A Memorable Friendship. Amanda Lollar has since become a leading voice on bat rehabilitation, with her manual, The Rehabilitation and Captive Care of Insectivorous Bats. Bat World has been a longtime collaborator with conservancies, wildlife rehabilitation associations, universities and state wildlife agencies. Lollar and Bat World earned the Carole Noon award in 2016.
In addition to rescue and rehabilitation work, Bat World continues to change the public’s perception of bats through educational efforts including virtual tours and other interactive activities like Bat Cams (batworld.org). The sanctuary’s website provides several informative articles including the facts surrounding bats and coronavirus: https://batworld.org/bats-and-coronavirus-the-facts/. To learn more, please visit: Home (batworld.org)
GFAS Certifications and Renewals
Over the past month, GFAS has certified two new organizations, and renewed one organization.
New Certification
New Freedom Farm, Virginia
Racehorse Remember Me Rescue, Texas
Renewals
Wild Horse Rescue Center, Florida