Catskills Animal Sanctuary
By: Emily Tan
On June 1st, 2015, class 5-301 (my class) went on a very long trip to the Catskills to meet the animals who were saved from harsh factory farms and abuse and neglect. This place was called the Catskills Farm Animal Sanctuary. They keep animals with special needs and they help animals become healthier again so that they wouldn’t feel the pain of being in factory farms again.
It’s very tragic to see animals being misused or left behind and that's why there are helpful animal sanctuaries to give shelter, food, and water to these animals so that they will become healthier and they will be able to live a better life. One example of this sanctuary helping farm animals is taking care of pigs that were going to be used as meat. In factory farms, they feed pig an unreasonable amount of soy and corn and they feed them medicine that makes them grow extremely quickly while to soy and corn makes them fatter. Luckily, the animal sanctuary saved a few of those pigs and changed up their diet. If they were fed even more corn and soy, they would be dead by now but the sanctuary feeds them horse feed (hay and fruits) and fruits and vegetables so that the pigs can remain healthy. The pig is still 200 pounds but at least it’s still alive.
Another example of an animal rescue by the Catskills Farm Sanctuary is helping the special needs horses. We met two horses, Buddy and Katie, who had a disease called moon blindness which causes pain in the back of the eyes. It then becomes so painful that the animal/person becomes blind but they still have so much pain in their eyes. The animal sanctuary had a choice of taking out his eyes or putting him to sleep. It would be harmful to put the horse to sleep so they took out their eyes and it freed up all the pain behind their eyes but they were still blind. They helped the horses memorize the field that they roam in and they lead them back to the barn in the afternoon and night so they can rest and eat.
Another thing that this farm supported was being vegan. Some people think that being vegan is hard and you won’t be able to enjoy some of the food you really like, for example, ice cream and bacon. There are alternatives for these foods and you will get used to not eating this stuff. When we finished meeting all the animals at the sanctuary, the people who work at the farm gave us an alternative for ice cream. It contained no milk and it was made with coconut and soy. Most of my class said that it tasted just as good as ice cream and maybe even better! I learned that being vegan supports animals and it also can be more nutritious and healthy. It may take some time to get used to it but you will eventually be fine without bacon or ice cream.
Going to the sanctuary made me realize many things. I learned about this farm saving poor helpless animals in factory farms and they help the animals remain lively and I learned about vegan choices and how we can help these animals. This trip inspired me to make better choices about meat and dairy and I might even change my way of eating to help these animals.
It’s very tragic to see animals being misused or left behind and that's why there are helpful animal sanctuaries to give shelter, food, and water to these animals so that they will become healthier and they will be able to live a better life. One example of this sanctuary helping farm animals is taking care of pigs that were going to be used as meat. In factory farms, they feed pig an unreasonable amount of soy and corn and they feed them medicine that makes them grow extremely quickly while to soy and corn makes them fatter. Luckily, the animal sanctuary saved a few of those pigs and changed up their diet. If they were fed even more corn and soy, they would be dead by now but the sanctuary feeds them horse feed (hay and fruits) and fruits and vegetables so that the pigs can remain healthy. The pig is still 200 pounds but at least it’s still alive.
Another example of an animal rescue by the Catskills Farm Sanctuary is helping the special needs horses. We met two horses, Buddy and Katie, who had a disease called moon blindness which causes pain in the back of the eyes. It then becomes so painful that the animal/person becomes blind but they still have so much pain in their eyes. The animal sanctuary had a choice of taking out his eyes or putting him to sleep. It would be harmful to put the horse to sleep so they took out their eyes and it freed up all the pain behind their eyes but they were still blind. They helped the horses memorize the field that they roam in and they lead them back to the barn in the afternoon and night so they can rest and eat.
Another thing that this farm supported was being vegan. Some people think that being vegan is hard and you won’t be able to enjoy some of the food you really like, for example, ice cream and bacon. There are alternatives for these foods and you will get used to not eating this stuff. When we finished meeting all the animals at the sanctuary, the people who work at the farm gave us an alternative for ice cream. It contained no milk and it was made with coconut and soy. Most of my class said that it tasted just as good as ice cream and maybe even better! I learned that being vegan supports animals and it also can be more nutritious and healthy. It may take some time to get used to it but you will eventually be fine without bacon or ice cream.
Going to the sanctuary made me realize many things. I learned about this farm saving poor helpless animals in factory farms and they help the animals remain lively and I learned about vegan choices and how we can help these animals. This trip inspired me to make better choices about meat and dairy and I might even change my way of eating to help these animals.