Save the Date – Sanctuary Awards Week
We are coming up on one of our favorite times of the year, celebrating all the amazing work of Sanctuaries, Rescues and Rehabilitation Centers. To celebrate the announcement of the Carole Noon and Outstanding Sanctuary Awards, we have planned a week of educational webinars, as well as the virtual awards ceremony to end the week and celebrate the winners!
Please be sure to mark your calendars for the week of October 21. We will have educational webinars taking place Monday through Thursday and then Friday, October 25, we hold our annual Virtual Awards Ceremony where we will announce the winners of the 2024 Carole Noon and Outstanding Sanctuary Awards!
During this week, we are thrilled to have presenters from organizations including Grants 4 Animals, HEART, Wild Welfare and Healthy Herd Consulting.
Keep an eye on our social media and website for more details and registration information.
World Suicide Prevention Day – Resources for Caregivers
Caring for rescued animals takes an emotional toll and we want to destigmatize that fact.
We hope sanctuary can be more than just a physical place. We hope we can be a sanctuary for each other – a safe space to share the heartache that comes with witnessing the exploitation and harm of animals. We invite you to open this conversation in the sanctuary community and support each other, because this profession is beautiful but HARD.
Changing the narrative on suicide requires systemic change. It’s about shifting from a culture of silence and stigma to one of openness, understanding, and support.
If you need resources or support for yourself or a loved one, visit International Association for Suicide Prevention.
Resources for Animal Caregivers:
Best Friends Resources for Caretaker Burnout
Open Sanctuary Project on Burnout
ASPCAPro on Compassion Fatigue
Pro-Tip: Get a Microgrant for Adopting a Vegan Organizational Policy
Whether or not your sanctuary cares for farmed animals, having a plant-based policy for your organization makes good sense; as a matter of consistency with any animal-loving mission, why not reduce harm to all animals and set the example for a compassionate lifestyle? After all, systems of animal exploitation are interconnected.
Accredited Animal Place’s Food for Thought Program wants to support you in making this change. They can help your organization draft and adopt a plant-based policy and will even give you a small grant for doing so.
Want to learn more? Visit https://animalplace.org/food-for-thought/
Wild Welfare US – Working across the globe to promote enhanced captive animal welfare outcomes
Margaret Whitaker, Executive Director, WWUS
Email:
Website: wildwelfare.org
A new partnership between Wild Welfare and the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries makes available powerful tools and guidance that can help elevate care across the sanctuary community.
Read the article from Wild Welfare here.
The 12th Donkey Welfare Symposium is coming up September 27 – 29th, 2024
Do you care for donkeys? Want to learn more about these often-misunderstood equines? Check out the in-person AND virtual Donkey Welfare Symposium.
The 12th Annual Donkey Welfare Symposium is a collaboration between UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and GFAS Verified Oscar’s Place Adoption Center & Sanctuary. Topics will range from herd management to preventative care and veterinary concerns.
For more information on this informative event, go to: https://www.donkeyconference.com/.
GFAS Welcomes Newly Accredited, Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary
In the heart of Lake Victoria, sits Ngamba Island, a 100-acre sanctuary home for rescued chimpanzees from East Africa. The sanctuary was founded in 1998 in response to the burgeoning pet trade in chimpanzees during regional instability. This peaceful island, allows the chimpanzees freedom to move through the forest canopy, forage, and make nests for sleeping. The chimpanzees are also cared for and monitored daily by a dedicated team of veterinarians and caregivers when they come in from the forest for feedings.
The Ugandan nonprofit, Chimpanzee Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservation Trust, oversees all aspects of managing the sanctuary as well as working to protect wild chimpanzees in their natural habitat. The organization conducts community outreach programs in an effort to educate the public about the plight of chimpanzees and eco-tourism opportunities to support the long-term sustainability of the sanctuary.
GFAS is proud to recognize Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary as a true sanctuary and for their enormous efforts to save Africa’s apes. Learn more at: ngambaisland.org
Certification and Renewals
Over the past month GFAS has certified one organization and renewed four organizations!
Congratulations to these groups!
New Certification
Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Uganda
Renewals
DreamChaser Horse Rescue & Rehabilitation, Missouri
Foster Parrots, Rhode Island
Global Sanctuary for Elephants, Brazil
South Florida Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals