About
Catskill Animal Sanctuary was founded in 2001 with the mission to rescue farm animals in need, educate the public about the devastating affects of agribusiness, and encourage people to adopt a cruelty-free lifestyle. In the ten years since it was founded, the Sanctuary has rescued over 2,000 farm animals from life or death situations and had shown people that these animals are so much more than what they are perceived to be. CAS’s 80-acre haven is located in Saugerties and offers weekend tours, overnight lodging, event space, educational events, speeches, and vegan cooking lessons for the public.
Our Mission
Located two hours north of New York City, CAS provides a safe and loving haven for abused horses and farm animals – animals who have never known warm shelter, spacious pastures, good food, or the touch of a kind hand. Since 2001, CAS has provided refuge for around 2,000 such animals, and served as a center to raise awareness of their mistreatment and its impact on all of us.
In short, the mission of CAS is:
- to provide a safe haven for abused, abandoned, and neglected horses and farm animals
- to heighten public awareness of the treatment of these animals and its impact on humans, animals, and the planet we share through innovative on and off-site programming
- to serve as an educational resource to schools and youth organizations by providing innovative on-site and school-based programming
Our History
Catskill Animal Sanctuary opened in January of 2001, the culmination of many months’ research, travel, and internships at successful farm sanctuaries by founders Kathy Stevens and Jesse Moore. Our mission: to provide a safe and loving home for abused and abandoned horses and farm animals, and to raise public awareness of agribusiness and its impact on all of us.
Dino, the survivor of a Brooklyn arson that killed 23 horses, was our first resident on a property. Ten years later, CAS has provided a safe haven for over 2,000 desperately needy farm animals and has found loving homes for 3/4 of those creatures.
In addition to direct animal aid, CAS offers a wide variety of workshops and school programs designed to help people experience farm animals as the unique individuals they truly are. Other programs raise awareness of the institutionalized suffering of food animals on factory farms, and of the environmental havoc wrought by agribusiness. Director Kathy Stevens visits schools, colleges, and community organizations each year, and students from dozens of regional schools spend a memorable day here each spring.
In 2003 CAS moved the Sanctuary to 316 Old Stage Road in Saugerties, New York. It took a lot of time to turn the 80-acre junk yard into the beautiful farm that it is today! In early 2010, CAS completed its conversion to solar energy, and may be the only sanctuary in the country to be 100% solar-powered.
Our director’s first book, Where the Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary, was released in the Summer of 2007 to wide acclaim. Kathy’s second book, Animal Camp, was released in winter 2010. Both books are full of stories of animals that have lived at the Sanctuary.
