The Point: Spring 2018

HUMANE
By Fiona Gandy
According to the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
ASPCA, “94% of Americans agree that
animals raised for food deserve to live free
from abuse and cruelty. Yet the majority of
the nearly 10 billion farm animals raised
each year in the U.S. suffer in conditions
that consumers would not accept if they
could see them.” The ASPCA further
writes on conditions many animals face.
“At just two to three weeks old, piglets
are removed from their mothers
and placed in large, windowless
sheds without fresh air, sunlight or
outdoor access,” the ASPCA said.
The organization explains that cattle
are usually branded, castrated and may
have their horns removed without the
use of painkillers. Most cattle are sent
to live their last few months in crowded
feedlots. Without pasture or even shelter,
the cattle must stand in mud, ice and
their own waste. Turkeys are put in sheds
where they are restricted from fresh air,
sunshine and pasture. They are forced
to breathe dangerously high levels of
ammonia that come from their own waste.
Other instances of animals having poor
living conditions or being abused have
occurred across the world. The reality is
that animal cruelty continues to this day.
Imagine a tiny farm located 68 miles
away from Biola, filled with a feeling of
home. Farm Sanctuary operates three
shelters in New York, Southern California
and Northern California. The humble
26-acre Southern California sanctuary is
home to roughly 100–120 farm animals.
Its general mission is to protect farm
animals from cruelty through rescue and
legal advocacy. The sanctuary intends to
inspire change in the way that society
views and treats farm animals, as well as
to promote compassionate vegan living.
What sets this animal sanctuary apart
from others? At the farm, people get to
meet the animals that the group rescues.
The rescues are farm animals that have
come out of situations of abuse or neglect.
Having the chance to interact with these
farm animals may be especially unique
given its proximity to the city of Los
Angeles, in which wherever one turns, one
stumbles upon buildings and vehicles.
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