A big aspect of farm sanctuary life is working with other sanctuaries around the country to build relationships to rescue more animals and provide better care for our residents. Our work with other sanctuaries includes exchanging information about animals in need and understanding who has the capacity to take them in and how we will transport them. In addition to this, we exchange intel and information with each other about medical issues and general resident care and actively support and promote each others urgent calls for action and fundraising events.
All sanctuaries get constant requests from people wanting to surrender their animals or calling for a rescue. Of course we want to take in all of the animals, but it’s not always possible for us to support new residents. While our land can support upwards of 400 residents, we are unfortunately limited to the number of residents we can care for due to a finite amount of land - this is a struggle all sanctuaries face. When this happens, we call on our network of sanctuaries to figure out who has the capacity to take these animals in to get them to safety. These animals rely on us to get them out of bad situations and allow them freedom, love, and health.
Since our network of sanctuaries extends across the country, being able to efficiently transport these animals is the key to a successful and lifesaving rescue. One example of the necessity for reliable and animal friendly transportation is our recent rescue of Laverne and Shirley from California. Farm Animal Refuge in California had a connection to a research lab and got the call that four pigs were being exited from their research projects. We were able to take in Laverne and Shirley and Central Texas Pig Rescue had the capacity to take in the other two. Since Austin Farm Sanctuary does not currently have a designated transport van, volunteers from California took a 25 hour road trip to get these animals to Texas.
Another example of how our lack of a transportation vehicle has impacted our ability to save more lives is the recent Buda rooster rescue. We were called about an abuse and neglect case where we found the results of breeding for cock fighting. 40+ birds were found dead and their rotting bodies were everywhere. The rest of the birds were severely dehydrated and malnourished. We needed to act quickly to get these birds food, water, and medical attention. Some of our volunteers went to and from the site five times in their personal vehicles to get these roosters and hens to safety. Had we had a transport van with kennels and climate control for these medically fragile residents, we would have been able to act quicker and save more lives.
Over the last 2 years, we worked closely with 12 different sanctuaries to successfully transport and re-homing of over 100 animals, covering a combined distance of 12,000 miles! This year, we want to increase these numbers and continue to save these animals at a greater scale.
One of our goals for Amplify Austin is to raise enough money to purchase a safe and reliable transport van for these vulnerable animals in order to help us save more lives. Not only will this van allow us to rescue more animals that are vulnerable and injured and act as an ambulance for our current residents to get to and from the vet, but it will also allow us to continue large rescue efforts in support of other sanctuaries who may be able to help an animal in need, but do not have the resources to get them to their sanctuary. Our transport van will allow us to save more lives beyond the walls of our home. Support AFS duping Amplify Austin so we can "Save Them All".