An Animal Rights/Vegan Activists' Strategies Article used with permission from All-Creatures.org

Angel Flinn discusses the critical importance of sanctuaries to the creatures they serve and to the vegan movement as a whole. She also suggests that as vegan consumers we should take a good look at where we are directing our money when we shop and how this aligns with our values.

Giving Thanks for the Sanctuaries
From Angel Flinn, GentleWorld.org
November 2025

Photo from Canva

Sanctuary: A place where someone is protected or given shelter 🌿 The protection that is provided by a refuge 🌿 A sacred or holy place

For many of us in the vegan world, Thanksgiving is hardly a day that inspires gratitude. It is, after all, hard to keep from one’s mind the thought of the 46 million souls who will not survive it.

Nevertheless, the day does present an opportunity to focus on giving thanks; a practice that is always helpful and endlessly nourishing. I am choosing this year to focus my attention on an effortless source of gratitude, and that is the selfless and tireless work of the men and women who run our sanctuaries.

Recently I have been following with concern the stories of multiple sanctuaries that are struggling to stay alive, such as Dean Farm Trust, FRIEND, Juliana’s, and Heartstone. Their circumstances call attention to the immense financial and logistical pressure that sanctuaries face every day, and the threats to their survival shine a light on the essential role they play in the broader animal rights movement.

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More than just homes for the select few that escape, they are a vital force for change. Sanctuaries provide on-the-ground fulfillment of the most basic principles of animal rights: the right to life, safety, and freedom from exploitation. Rescue workers are the frontline responders, the first line of defense for nonhuman refugees. Each individual rescued and brought to a sanctuary is both a living embodiment of the violence inherent in animal agriculture and at the same time, a symbol of hope for a new way. Cows, sheep, chickens, pigs, turkeys, and others who were once used as commodities are now recognized as individuals with names, personalities, and their own personal histories. As residents at a sanctuary, they are the living evidence that those used by industry are not objects, but are sentient beings with a right to live on their own terms.

Beyond providing direct care, sanctuaries are also powerful educational hubs. Through blog posts, social media updates, and photo and video documentation, they bring the personalities and stories of their residents to a global audience. They shine a light on the hidden horrors of animal farming by showing the vibrant lives that are possible for its victims once they are freed from the shackles of slavery.

Sanctuaries counter the narrative of animal agriculture as a natural part of human society by demonstrating that nonviolent coexistence between humans and our fellow animals is not just an abstract ideal but a tangible reality. When people get to know our fellow animals not as sources of food, but as conscious individuals with the capacity for pleasure as well as pain, and for deep bonds or perhaps even quiet introversion, it challenges their preconceived notions. This direct, emotional connection is often the most powerful catalyst for individuals to embrace the vegan way of life.

Tragically, animal sanctuaries around the world are facing a relentless and often invisible struggle with funding. Relying on unpredictable income streams from individual donations, small grants, and grassroots fundraising events, they are highly vulnerable to economic downturns and fluctuations in public giving. While they provide a fundamental service by offering lifelong refuge to animals rescued from industry, their costs are astronomical and continue to rise. Expenses for veterinary care, specialized feed, and essential infrastructure maintenance can quickly overwhelm an already strained budget, and a single medical emergency can be financially crippling.

These economic pressures are compounded by a lack of widespread institutional support. Unlike some traditional animal shelters, sanctuaries that care for farmed animals rarely receive significant government or large corporate grants, leaving them to compete for a limited pool of donor dollars. This competition can lead to “compassion fatigue” among the public, where potential supporters feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of organizations and their needs. In many countries, the sanctuary movement’s growth—a direct result of more animals needing rescue—has outpaced the growth in giving, creating a critical and escalating gap between the services needed and the funds available.

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The will to live is a fundamental and primal instinct shared by all sentient beings. It is an unyielding force that manifests in indisputable ways when life is threatened. This is a truth we know with certainty about ourselves that we also recognize in others of the animal kingdom with whom we share this planet.

This fundamental survival drive is not solely an inward-looking instinct; in a select few, it is transmuted into a powerful and selfless outward force. Sanctuary founders are the living embodiment of this transformation. They are the caregivers who, having recognized the same determination to live in the eyes of another, dedicate their own lives to ensuring that will is never again threatened. It is a profound act of moral empathy, born from the understanding that one’s own will to survive is mirrored in the eyes of the most vulnerable.

For these altruistic and often self-effacing men and women, protecting the lives of others has become to them a sacred duty. They do not just provide shelter; they create a haven where animals once terrorized by humans can live free from fear and even be restored to dignity, offering a profound form of healing by rebuilding the very trust that had previously been broken.

Even without a uniquely urgent calamity, sanctuary founders (especially those who run small operations with little funding) often work relentlessly, sacrificing their own well-being while juggling the roles of caregiver, facilities manager, administrator, and fundraiser. Their mornings may begin before dawn with the physically demanding tasks of feeding residents, cleaning barns and enclosures, maintaining and repairing fences and shelters, performing health checks for any signs of illness or injury, and coordinating with veterinarians for emergency care and routine check-ups. Even if they are fortunate enough to have volunteers or staff, they are often responsible for supervising them, and at the same time, some also manage the financial and administrative tasks of the organization: often handling accounting, responding to donor inquiries, writing grant proposals, and using social media to share stories of the animals to inspire support. This unremitting schedule (which offers little to no time off, and in many cases demands long hours in extreme conditions) embodies their unwavering commitment to the individuals they serve.

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Reprioritizing the Victims: The Vegan Consumer’s Role

The rise of the vegan market has introduced a paradox: while supporting plant-based businesses is a valuable contribution to the growth of a vegan future, the explosion of high-end pleasure foods, luxury cosmetics, and designer clothing has created a “feel-good” economy that can sometimes divert funds away from where they are most critically needed.

For our movement to truly thrive, there needs to be a collective shift in mindset among individual vegans. It requires a conscious effort to move beyond a focus on what one can eat or buy and toward a commitment to direct, tangible action. The question we might all begin to ask is not just, “Is this product vegan?” but also, “Is this purchase more important than the survival of a sanctuary that is literally saving lives?”

By reprioritizing spending and directing a portion of our capital toward the sanctuaries providing refuge, vegan consumers can become powerful allies in the fight to ensure that these indispensable safe havens can continue their life-saving work. To contribute to their preservation is to recognize that a vegan world is not something we can simply dream into existence, but a refuge we build together, one rescue at a time.

I believe it is our moral duty to fight for their survival alongside them, not just as advocates for the right to life for all beings, but as individuals who, ourselves, owe a debt. Their residents may have been rescued from industries we now rally against, but almost every single one of us was once a consumer creating demand for the continued existence of those very industries.

In the end, the fate of a struggling sanctuary is not just a potential tragedy in a distant meadow; it is a profound test for the vegan community, and a stark reminder that if the sanctuaries fail, so too goes the very heart of our movement.

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Posted on All-Creatures.org: November 28, 2025
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