Reception places, which offer shelter to horses, donkeys, pigs, cows, chickens, sheep and all those species that man has selected for his own use and purposes. Animal sanctuaries are structures where ex-farm animals , saved from certain death, find a home.

The reason for animal sanctuaries

During the processes of social and economic evolution, humans have gradually tamed free animals , modifying their rhythms to make them more productive and adapting them as much as possible to their needs .  

For the so-called “farm animals” – that is, those that are raised for utilitarian purposes – existence is marked from birth, and their destiny is not the best. Locked up and fed for the purpose of obtaining meat , milk , wool or skin , these specimens are exploited to death, only to be replaced. 

Animal sanctuaries oppose this situation, saving as many animals as possible from certain death and creating an alternative in which the four-legged guests can live happily: in contact with nature, free from obligations towards humans, satisfying their own needs of species.

The philosophy behind these structures postulates that man is not the undisputed master of the planet’s resources , but part of an ecosystem and – like all other creatures – subject to his rules.

In Italy, the realities that propose to welcome animals in difficulty are growing. Some of them belong to the Network of Free Animal Sanctuaries in Italy , of which they embrace values ​​and objectives.

The Network of Free Animal Sanctuaries in Italy

Founded in 2014 to combine efforts and optimize the work of the various realities, the Network of Free Animal Sanctuaries in Italy is ” an aggregation of projects that are recognized as being very close in their path and which have the common goal of contributing to an improvement in the current relationship between us human animals and all the others “.

Thanks to their activity, these projects have been able to create places of refuge for many people, condemned and homeless. To be considered a sanctuary, a structure must meet certain requirements, which is why a Charter of Values ​​has been drawn up .

Here are the key points,that a Shrine must satisfy in order to be such:

• It must be managed by a non-profit organization , made up of people who practice non-violent lifestyle choices and are free from any form of animal exploitation.
• It must guarantee a high quality of life for guests, ensuring that their needs are met and keeping fences to a minimum.
• It must not acquire new subjects through economic ransom (in order not to finance the abuses in any way), but rather focus on cases of kidnapping, closure of farms, findings.
• It must avoid new births , in order not to take away precious space from any external subjects in difficulty.
• He must in no way  use animals for his own utilitarian purposes.
• It must do dissemination activities of its activities to bring people closer to non-violent philosophy and, in general, to animals as such.
• Avoid discriminatory attitudes of any kind.
• Choose ethical collaborators and suppliers in every sector (finance, insurance, gadgets , various jobs, purchase of equipment, etc …), drawing as much as possible from the solidarity economy circuit.
• Adopt non-violent communication and the consensus method for all decisions to be taken collectively.

Animal sanctuaries around the world

There are different types of wildlife sanctuaries in the world, depending on the countries and realities in which they are located.

Many of them are places designed to house specimens rescued from illegal trafficking , from mass production farms, from circuses or zoos . In the sanctuaries they find habitats similar to their own, where they are cared for and then – if and when the possibility exists – return to live in nature. Alternatively, the shrines offer them refuge until the end of their days. 

Whatever the guests (goats, chickens or koalas or hippos), there are golden rules common to all, which clearly distinguish sanctuaries from other structures, such as zoos.

First of all, a sanctuary does not breed, buy or trade animals. It does not capture wild animals , but only acquires animals that can no longer survive independently in the wild. It does not encourage reproduction , so as not to take away space for any new animals in difficulty and is committed to guaranteeing guests the best possible living conditions, without profiting on their lives .