What is a sanctuary?

by John Mulcahy and Diana Goodrich
from the January 2001 newsletter

Many people envision a time when animals will no longer be looked upon as human property. Through education or policy reform, activists and lawyers are slowly chipping away at the property status of animals, hoping to establish recognition that animals have interests and do not exist merely to serve humans.

At the same time, we work to free those animals who are currently exploited. Unfortunately, many animals remain dependent on humans long after they have been rescued from human exploitation. Thus there is still a need for facilities that provide care for captive animals while at the same time recognizing their interests as right holders. This is the role of the sanctuary.

Sanctuaries remove animals from their current situation with the promise of a better life. This includes animals rescued from research, the food industry, the pet trade, the entertainment industry, and zoos. Sanctuaries also care for orphaned individuals from the wild.

There are many reasons why rescued animals may not be able to live completely independently of humans. Some are physically injured or simply never had a chance to learn the skills necessary to survive on their own. For others, there is no habitat left to return to. Still others were infected with diseases that either make them sick or pose a significant health risk to those around them.

The promise of a better life is not a small promise. It encompasses the pledge that the sanctuary animals will have a permanent home where they are viewed as individuals rather than commodities. It is a pledge to treat sanctuary animals with respect and dignity.

Part of treating an animal is recognizing and allowing for species-typical behaviors such as climbing for goats, manipulating food for monkeys, roaming for elephants, or nesting for chimpanzees. While recognizing sanctuary animals' important species-typical needs, their individual behaviors and needs are of equal importance and sanctuaries are dedicated to finding out how to best accommodate each individual resident. Even with accommodation for individual and species-typical needs, a lifetime of captivity is far from ideal, so continual improvements are made to the sanctuary environment to alleviate boredom.

Perhaps one of the most important missions of sanctuaries beyond caring for the animals is educating others. In our society, animals have no voice. Therefore, it is important that sanctuaries speak out on behalf of their residents. The ultimate goal of a sanctuary is to change the way that humans think of and treat nonhuman animals.

Now, some may hear the word sanctuary and conjure up images of animals roaming free and existing in perfect harmony with their surroundings. Unfortunately, this is an idealistic image and doesn't represent the reality of most sanctuaries. Animals continue to exist in captivity in these facilities where they will rely upon humans for their basic needs for the rest of their lives. Human caregivers, while they strive to form trusting relationships with sanctuary animals, are still in the position of jailor. More often than not, animals do not live in naturalistic social groups and therefore lose much of what it is inherent to their particular species. Sanctuary animals also usually lose the opportunity to have offspring within the facility because allowing breeding would continue the cycle of keeping animals in captivity.

Sanctuaries generally need public and private donations to operate and must dedicate some resources to fundraising. Sometimes effective fundraising such as allowing visits and having newspaper and television stories about the animals can blur the line between a sanctuary and a zoo or even animals used for entertainment purposes. Sometimes, sanctuaries take on too much by attempting to rescue animals that are beyond their capability to properly care for them. This compromises the lives of all of the animals within the sanctuary.

What separates a sanctuary from all other institutions though is the idea that the residents come first. In a sanctuary, every action is scrutinized for any trace of human benefit at the expense of nonhuman residents. Sanctuaries act on behalf of the animals, and the caregivers work under the notion that all animals in the sanctuary, human and nonhuman, are of equal importance.

Operating or working within an animal sanctuary can be a difficult and draining occupation. Because of the realities and potential pitfalls mentioned above, decisions must be made with care, always keeping in mind the quality of life for the animals there and the plight of animals everywhere. By setting this example, and through education, perhaps sanctuaries in existence today will help to end the need for sanctuaries to exist in the future.

• Support your local animal welfare organizations who need financial or volunteering assistance.
• Examine the lives of your pets at home in a new light - imagine yourself as a guardian instead of as an owner.
• Visit our How Can I Help section for more ideas on changes you can make and actions you can take to make a difference.