I want to tell you a story. It’s a story of fighting against all odds. Of escaping
certain death. This is a story of survival.
Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. Today I want to talk
a little about the importance of farm animal sanctuaries and share the incredible stories
of some sanctuary residents. Now a lot of my videos focus on the horrors of the animal
products industry, and we cannot ever lose sight of those atrocities. We slaughter over
150 billion animals every year; that’s over 5,000 killed every second.
But there are some survivors. They are few and they are miracles. They are refugees from
the most vicious, longest, and bloodiest war our planet has ever seen. These few who manage
to escape need sanctuary- a place to live out their lives free of the exploitation they
so narrowly avoided. This is the role farm sanctuaries play: they are safe houses for
refugees, providing shelter, food, water, and, most importantly, freedom.
I myself have visited and volunteered at SASHA Farm animal sanctuary in Manchester, MI and
seeing the animals there plants a seed of cautious hope that some day, every animal
can live free. I’d like to introduce you to some of these survivors.
Meet Jefferson. Jefferson was raised on a farm destined for slaughter. He was sold by
the pound and loaded onto a truck headed to a slaughterhouse in Detroit. But Jefferson,
like every living being, didn’t want to die. He somehow escaped and he ran. He literally
ran for his life down Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, garnering much media attention and
bringing light to the obvious fact that animals do not want to be our food. Jefferson was
eventually caught and through intense negotiations and public outcry, the slaughterhouse finally
agreed to set Jefferson free. He came to SASHA farm and now lives with his bovine brethren
in peace.
One of Jefferson’s fellow residents has a similar story of escape. About a decade
after Jefferson’s flight, 3-year-old Fargo was being held in a pen at a meat processing
plant in North Dakota. Minutes away from slaughter, Fargo broke loose from the pen and ran for
freedom. Once destined to be killed at age three, can now live for 20 more years or more,
the natural lifespan of cows, which they so rarely get to reach.
Last September, SASHA Farm rescued 100 battery hens from a group of 3,000 who had been saved
from gassing at a California egg farm. These hens had never before touched the earth, never
seen the sky, never been able to stretch their wings. They’d lived the entirety of their
lives cramped into battery cages on top of one another.
These are but two of hundreds of stories of survival. And it is important that they are
told. By their very unlikely existence, these refugees call attention to the war at hand.
For every on who escapes, millions do not. These few are no longer someone’s property,
no longer something owned, but someone free to live.
If you want to know a worthy cause to support, it is a sanctuary like SASHA Farm. They rely
fully on donations to continue their work. SASHA was founded by Dorothy Davies and Monte
Jackson, who work every day to provide for their residents. Dorothy, as reported by VegNews,
“urges that more animal sanctuaries that can care for larger animals are needed [saying
that] along with giving larger animals the care that they need, such sanctuaries offer
great opportunity for education. She believes the quickest way to create a new vegan is
to have them make a connection with one animal, and that ‘It really only takes one to change
your life.’ Evoking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she says that the fight against a carnist
culture is a struggle we can win—while accepting that we may not be here when it ends.”
Farm sanctuaries are so vital to the animal rights movement. These survivors deserve a
place to live unexploited. This is happening on an international level, with the 269 activists
of Israel recently founding their own farm sanctuary. They are just getting started and
already have a growing community of animals who’ve finally found their freedom.
So tell these stories, and give a face to the billions of animals murdered every year.
The number is so unfathomable and the victims intangible that it’s easy for people ignore
the slaughter. But when you look into the eyes of someone who has escaped this war,
they tell you that it is very real. As Dorothy says, it really only takes one to change your
life.
I’m including the links to SASHA and the 269farm in the video description. If ever
there were a worthy cause to support, it is farm sanctuaries. Please consider donating
and share this video around to give a voice to the survivors and those who did not escape.
Give the video a thumbs up if you were touched by these stories and if you’re new I’d
love to have you as a subscriber. Now go live vegan and I’ll see you soon