Our Mission
Catskill Animal Sanctuary rescues farmed animals, ignites social change to end their exploitation, and champions vegan living.
Our History
Since the snowy day in January 2001 that a tiny pony named Dino, the sole survivor of a horrific barn fire, hobbled off the trailer and onto our grounds, more than 5,000 animals have called Catskill Animal Sanctuary home. Whether they’ve come from animal hoarders or agribusiness, suffered horrendous cruelty or prolonged neglect, it has been our privilege to welcome each one and say, with all that we have and all that we are, “You are safe, you are loved, and you matter.”
Our history, in many ways, is comprised of 5,000 individual love stories. And it is also the story of rescuing a derelict property in Saugerties, NY, and creating a sanctuary in its place — one road, one barn and one pasture at a time, as funds come in from folks near and far who want to help.
Over the years we’ve demolished collapsed buildings, dredged ponds, installed roads, built a dozen barns and two dozen smaller shelters, created roomy pastures, added solar power, purchased adjoining property, and so much more, so that today Catskill Animal Sanctuary is comprised of 150 acres of pastured and wooded land — a haven for those lucky enough to find their way here.
Of course, the work never ends. In Fall of 2022, after months of working with law enforcement and the SPCA, we rescued 42 sheep from profound and prolonged neglect at a farm where many more had already died. Our costs–for medical care, hospitalization, ongoing hoof treatments, and more, have been astronomical. This is one of the largest rescues in our 22 years as a sanctuary— and in a year where costs are at an all-time high, taking on so many additional animals is a challenge, but it’s one we are privileged to take on.
Our history is about more than repairing broken bodies, broken spirits, and broken fencing; it also reflects our growing recognition that a massive societal shift to plant-based living is not only a moral imperative, it’s essential to our very survival.
Our signature Humane Education programs have been created to hasten this shift and, today, Catskill Animal Sanctuary is proud to be one of the world’s leading teaching sanctuaries.
