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Global toxic plant database
Are your residents’ outdoor living spaces safe? - Our free Global Toxic Plant Database is easy to navigate and contains information sortable by species and location!
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Available Now: The Care Program Evaluation Checklist
188 pages, 1200 policies and best practices for sanctuaries
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Animal Care Resources

Find resources about specific resident species here!

CHICKENS

COWS

GOATS

LLAMAS

PIGS

What’s New And Updated

A wild turkey in flight. Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

Domesticated Turkeys: How We Got Here

A short article on the history and current challenges of the domesticated turkey.
Farm Sanctuary hosts an annual summer “Hoe Down”, an event that draws hundreds of visitors for a weekend of education, comradery, good food, dancing, and time spent with rescued animals. 
Each year the event boasts a lineup of popular speakers on the topics of animal rights, activism, plant-based eating, sociology, and health. On Saturday evening, there is a country dance in the education centre. 

Farm Sanctuary was the first sanctuary of its kind, founded in 1986 for the purpose of rescuing and advocating for farmed animals. Learn more at https://www.farmsanctuary.org.

Potential Goose Health Challenges

An introductory guide for common goose health issues, illnesses, and diseases. When in doubt, always contact an expert or veterinarian for evaluation!
The 9,000-acre Skydog Ranch and Sanctuary in Oregon, USA, a Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries accredited organization, rescues wild horses and burros from kill pens and auctions where they face slaughter in Mexico or Canada. Home to approximately 300 equines, the sanctuary's mission is to restore their health, safety and freedom while raising awareness about wild horse and slaughter issues.

According to a 2022 poll conducted by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), most Americans oppose the slaughter of U.S. horses for meat. Despite this, many thousands of horses, including wild mustangs rounded up from public lands by the USA Bureau of Land Management (BLM), continue to be shipped across borders for slaughter.

Skydog is also home to several equine families that were reunited after being separated during BLM roundups. These roundups, where horses are chased for miles by helicopters into small catch pens, are extremely traumatizing for the horses, frequently resulting in severe injuries or deaths. Some animals break their necks trying to escape or return to their families. Once rounded up, many horses reportedly slip through the cracks, ending up without basic care. As of 2024, the BLM reports 66,000 wild horses and burros in holding facilities, with no domestic capacity to house them elsewhere.

At Skydog, rescued equines roam freely across thousands of acres in seven main herds. While some require special care in rehabilitation facilities, most live naturally on the vast property. The sanctuary provides these formerly displaced animals the opportunity to live in freedom, with reunited family bands together as they would in their native habitat.

Guide des soins aux ânes

Our donkey care basics guide in French!
Dean Farm Trust is a non-profit charity in South Wales based on 62 acres of pasture and woodland and is currently home to more than 180 animals.

The residents of Dean Farm Trust come from a variety of backgrounds: Some were unwanted pets, others were neglected, abused, or abandoned, and some were rescued from slaughter. Many of the animals at the sanctuary are extremely vulnerable and need extra care and support. Recognizing this, Dean Farm Trust cares for each animal’s individual physical needs as well as their psychological well-being.

Pig residents Jeff, Billy, and Linky are real standouts. Living together in their own “Bachelor Pad” due to their various health challenges, including blindness, deafness, foot issues, and anxiety, they all look after each other and love a good cuddle.

Potential Duck Health Challenges

An introductory guide for common duck health issues, illnesses, and diseases. When in doubt, always contact an expert or veterinarian for evaluation!

Explore Resources

Educational Programming

Learn about creating and managing an animal sanctuary here!

Governance & Organization

Access innovative online courses for important sanctuary topics here!

Downloads & Multimedia

Access our database of helpful documents and more here!

Animal Care Resources

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Starting A Sanctuary?

We have over 500 free informational resources, guides, templates, tools, and a whole lot more to help your animal organization grow and thrive!

About The Open Sanctuary Project

The Open Sanctuary Project is a freely accessible, always growing digital guide for any resources or information you need in order to responsibly create and successfully manage an animal sanctuary.

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About The Open Sanctuary Project

The Open Sanctuary Project is a freely accessible, always growing digital guide for any resources or information you need in order to responsibly create and successfully manage an animal sanctuary.

How To Support Our Work

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Contribute resource ideas and feedback to The Open Sanctuary Project.

Group 258
Donate Now

Please consider supporting The Open Sanctuary Project by making a donation today!

Contact Emvelop w_o Word
Share Your Ideas

Contribute resource ideas and feedback to The Open Sanctuary Project.

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