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The Animal Welfare Crisis
There's no way around it -- animals are in trouble. If someone asks you to think of an animal in crisis, the first species to come to mind might be a highly endangered animal like the giant panda, or perhaps your thoughts would turn to pet overpopulation, but the animal welfare crisis is worldwide and spares no species. Pet overpopulation, the captive wildlife trade, fur farming, poaching, unregulated hunting, traditional medicine, habitat loss, pollution, introduction of nonnative species, and deliberate acts of cruelty and neglect all take a heavy toll on the animals with which we share our world, and the extent to which our impact on animals is made continues to shock even the most seasoned animal welfare and conservation professionals.
Animal sanctuaries are only one part of the solution; one of our main functions is damage control, but we also strive to educate people about this animal welfare crisis, in the hope that, little by little, things will change for the better. When Olympic Animal Sanctuary was first envisioned, it was to be a sanctuary for wild cats and canines, bears, and reptiles, but it quickly became clear that the animal welfare crisis was a much broader problem. We now envision a facility capable of permanently housing and caring for all types of animals. This is a truly ambitious undertaking, and one that will take a great deal of time and resources to accomplish, but the need is too great and we cannot be daunted by the magnitude of addressing it.
As you read through the following sections, you will probably be struck by the diversity of the species discussed, and surprised to learn how many of them are common in captivity.
The unfortunate fact is that any animal you can find in a zoo can also be found in back yards, basements, and garages throughout America. To exotic animal collectors, nothing is off limits, and if the law says it's not allowed, the lawmakers are to blame when the law is broken. Rare and endangered species are given no special consideration; they simply command higher prices. In fact, many exotic animal owners and breeders claim to be conservationists, and insist that they keep wild animals for the good of the species. This is simply not true. (Read more.) The individual reasons people have for keeping animals vary, but the constant and the sole motivation behind the animal trade is profit.
The following are descriptions of the kinds of animals we are working to save. Some, we do significant work with already, while others are part of our plans for the future:
Posted on January 8, 2007
