According to the Microsanctuary Resource Center, while the microsanctuary model in many ways focuses on typically farmed species, any vegan home can be a microsanctuary when caring for animals who aren’t usually seen as “companions”: chickens, pigs, fishes, mice, rats, rabbits, insects, and more.
A microsanctuary can be as small as one rescued individual.
A microsanctuary starts from the premise that our space and our resources, no matter how limited, often are still sufficient for us to provide sanctuary to individual animals RIGHT NOW in order to prevent them from ever again being used as commodities. Additionally, microsanctuaries aren’t to be seen as stepping stones to larger sanctuaries but ends unto themselves: providing the best care to microsanctuary residents is a worthy goal, and the pressure to get bigger should always come second to sustainability and some degree of self-reliance. (In other words, beware of fundraising… Relying on outside funds to take in and care for MORE animals will always be in some degree of tension with doing what you can with what you have.
United Poultry Concerns in Machipongo has been featuring microsanctuaries in their podcasts. The latest Microsanctuary podcast is on Sweet Peeps Sanctuary in Alabama. Founder Tracey Glover shares how each of the chickens in her care have individual personalities and how she has learned that chickens are incredibly social, gentle, curious, and smart. The Microsanctuary Series will feature a different small sanctuary once a month through the summer of 2021.
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