Sanctuary gives rescued farm animals love

If there is such a place as heaven for farm animals, it must be a lot like Santuario Igualdad Interspecies, an incredible sanctuary for domestic animals destined for slaughter or left for dead.

Here, not only do they get to live in perfect peace and harmony, but they receive all the love and affection they deserve.

Located in El Monte, about 50 km from Chile’s capital city of Santiago, Santuario Igualdad Interspecie is the brainchild of Ariel Maluenda, 32, and Marisol de la Reguera, two vegan animal activists who decided that they needed to do something to help victims of human greed and cruelty.

Ariel and Marisol came up with the idea for their sanctuary in 2011, when they were both members of Organisación Veganismo, a national organisation fighting for the rights of animals.

They spent several months documenting what went on in the meat, poultry and dairy industries, travelling all over Chile and infiltrating farms and slaughterhouses so they could show the world the dark side of the food business.

 As vegans, it wasn’t easy for them to face the harsh reality first hand, but they needed solid proof to convince more people to join their cause.

Their work materialised in a couple of eye-opening documentaries called “Orphaned Milk” and “McDonald’s: Beyond the Hamburger”, which caused public uproar and were covered by both national and foreign media.

Their findings sparked heated debates on national television, and rallied people to their cause, so you could say that the two activists fulfilled their mission, at least in part.

But witnessing what farm animals went through first hand, made Ariel and Marisol realised that they had to do more than raise awareness and expose bad practices.

During their investigation, they saw newborn animals being left for dead, and those who were no longer profitable for farmers get sent to the slaughterhouse, and decided something had to be done to help them.

Chilean rescue sometimes managed to save these animals from their gruesome fate, but, most often than not, they had nowhere to take them, so they eventually had to be put down.

Borrowing money from banks, family and friends, as well as all their savings, Maluenda and de la Reguera founded Santuario Igualdad Interspecie, a place where rescued farm animals could spend the rest of their natural lives happy and free.

As word spread about this incredible place, animals began to arrive. Calves from the dairy industry that their owners deemed disposable, goats, pigs, ducks and chickens, any abandoned farm animal was more than welcome at the sanctuary of El Monte.

Credit: odditycentral.com