People sometimes confuse an animal sanctuary with a zoo and may ask, what is an animal sanctuary?
What makes a sanctuary different is the philosophy that the non-human animal occupants do not exist for human use, entertainment, or consumption. Their needs and happiness get all the attention and are the first priority.
Humans benefiting from the animals by taking their eggs, milk, skin, or wool is prohibited. The animals are left alone to exist how they would in nature without worrying about humans trying to take something that’s theirs. Farm animal sanctuaries rescue many different animal species that are commonly “farmed,” like cats, dogs, turkeys, chickens, horses, cows, roosters, pigs, rabbits, ducks, and bison, etc. The list is endless because there are so many animals that need saving from harm by humans.
There are also wildlife refuges sanctuaries that mostly host wild animals that wouldn’t interact with humans in the wild. They may include lions, cheetahs, zebras, bears, gorillas, rhinos, wildebeests, ostriches, leopards, warthogs, elephants, camels, and giraffes, as these animals are often saved from a zoo, aquarium, or other situation where humans derive “entertainment” from them.
Every animal sanctuary is not always open to the public, as they aim to avoid any activities that would place the occupants in any stressful situation. They are only opened when they request support from the public through donations and fundraising. Donations entail contributing finances, taking part in clean-ups, and walking the dogs as part of their exercise. Some sanctuaries also offer tours of the grounds or meet and greets with the animals to tell the public about their stories, what they were rescued from, and how we can reconnect our bonds with animals and prevent doing future harm to them. This is an essential part of animal sanctuaries, as learning of their hardships is how we encourage people not to cause the animals to be in that situation in the first place, by living a vegan lifestyl
References: https://julianasanimalsanctuary.org/why-should-you-support-an-animal-sanctuary/3