Veganism is the Next Evolution

One day in Maryland, by where many poultry farms operate, Patrice and Miriam Jones came across a chicken in a ditch. They took the chicken in and named him Viktor, and from there, founded the Eastern Shore Chicken Sanctuary, a mere two acres of land. As they took in more animals, they renamed the sanctuary Eastern Shore Sanctuary And Education Center. But this little sanctuary kept growing, and in 2009, they relocated to Springfield, Vermont, and renamed for a final time: V.I.N.E. Sanctuary, or, Veganism Is The Next Evolution.

V.I.N.E. Sanctuary now runs on 25 acres of clear pasture on 100 acres of land total, and plenty of free space for rescued chickens, roosters, and ducks to roam safely. The sanctuary has grown to give home to many farm animals that have either escaped or been rescued from the meat, dairy and egg industries, or other circumstances such as cockfighting, vivisection, and refugees from zoos. V.I.N.E. was the first to find a way to successfully rehabilitate roosters rescued from cockfighting histories, and they continue to give advocacy to birds through their staunch opposition to keeping “backyard birds.”

V.I.N.E. Sanctuary does more than just help animals in need. They also work towards educating in order to create systematic change in agriculture, trade, and consumption, and inflicting change on human attitudes towards animals and the environment.  This is achieved through advocacy work on all areas of animal oppression, and through comprehensive reports which illustrate such topics as the environmental impact of animal agriculture, and the impact of meat on your diet.

The sanctuary works to educate awareness on all social justice issues, and intersects these topics with speciesism. V.I.NE. is the first sanctuary to be entirely founded and staffed by LGBTQ people, and continues to raise awareness on the connections between speciesism, sexism, and homophobia. As stated on their Facebook page: “We work within an ecofeminist understanding of the interconnection of all life and the intersection of all forms of oppression. Thus we welcome and work to facilitate alliances among animal, environmental, and social justice activists.”

The most recent resident to find a permanent home at V.I.N.E. Sanctuary is a veal calf named Maddox, who was born on July 5^th to a captive dairy cow. Maddox was fortunately rescued by a group who works to educate the public on dairy farm practices, and was brought to V.I.N.E. to live a life that will never be restricted to a small crate for a short period of time. But like all sanctuary residents, Maddox represents those veal calves who are not so lucky to find a way out of the system that is dairy farming.

You can help Maddox right now by helping the sanctuary to get him the kind of milk he needs to grow up without his mother. He drinks up to 6 quarts of milk replacer daily. By donating $25, you can receive a V.I.N.E. Sanctuary sticker. A $75 donation, which buys an entire 50 pound bag of milk replacer, and the sanctuary will send you a special, one of a kind photo of Maddox. To help, donate here, and designate that the donation is for Maddox’s milk money.

You can help V.I.N.E., both to give the best homes possible to their residents, and to continue their advocacy work, by giving a donation. A donation as little as ten dollars can go towards a bale of hay. If you cannot afford to make a donation, you can give a shout-out to V.I.N.E. and the work they do on your blog, Facebook, or website, or you can spend some time with the animals by volunteering. Volunteer inquiries can be made by e-mail. Through their work, V.I.N.E. illustrates how our perceptions of farm animals can, and must change, and through our collective work to change the world’s perceptions, veganism really is the next evolution.

V.I.N.E. Sanctuary is located at 158 Massey Road, Springfield, Vermont, 05156. You can like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter.