Deep Roots: Animal Rights Blog

It is always so great to be able share good news. Our good news is that we were able to raise $4,000 in about a week to be able to build a new barn and rescue more chickens (and eventually other small farm animals). The construction of this barn will truly mark the next step in our evolution as an organization working to rescue at-risk animals and end animal exploitation.

We couldn’t have done it without help from dozens of people. It was truly awe-inspiring to see folks from Chicago, NYC, Portland, and as far away as Holland come together to help out a grassroots sanctuary in rural Indiana. We couldn’t have done it without all of the people who donated and helped spread the word. It really was a grassroots effort.

We heard today that the money is being transferred to our account, so we plan to get started really soon. We will keep you up-to-date on work days and progress through this blog, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and our newsletter. (Have you signed up for our free email newsletter?)

We are really excited about this next step. Are you?

As if that wasn’t enough good news, here is some more from the past couple of weeks:

• Charges were dropped against the AETA 4! As animal liberationists, we are really excited about this. Now we can go back to chalking sidewalks without being charged with terrorism (we hope).
• BP and the Coast Guard reached an agreement to stop burning sea turtles trapped in the oil spill. BP still needs to do much, much more, so don’t think this is letting them off the hook.
• Zimbabwe stopped the sale of elephants and other wildlife to North Korea.
• Obama administration argued against commercial whaling at IWC. This one truly is a victory of the masses. LOTS of people fought to make this happen. Keep taking action… it works.

I’m sure there is more good news. Feel free to share in the comments.

We just got some great news that a donor will match all donations to our Kickstarter campaign made in the next two days. That means that every donation you give will be doubled and we only need to raise about $1,700 to be able to go forward with construction and operation chicken rescue! However, we have less than three days to raise that amount, so please donate as much as you can and share this with everyone you know.

Kel asked some good questions about this campaign that might help shed some light.

Kel: can you help me understand why a chicken coop costs $6000?

Chris: Calling it a chicken coop is a bit deceiving. It is more of a barn that will be large enough to hold dozens of chickens and a few small farm animals. All of which will be rescues from abusive situations. The $6000 figure was the estimated amount to cover material costs, equipment rental, and food/care for the chickens for the first year. It didn’t make sense to us to raise money for an empty barn. We also factored in the credit card processing fees. Let me know if you have any other questions. You are right, we should have better explained where that number came from. I assure you, it was the result of a lot of research and personal experience.

Kel: What happens to the pledged funds if you don’t reach the goal?

Chris: The cards aren’t processed if we don’t raise all the funds. It is all or nothing.

If you want more information about what we are buiding and why, visit the Kickstarter project page (http://kck.st/crFbgq).

The scene is apocalyptic. Fires sweeping across the surface of the ocean. Gulls and turtles entombed in oil slicks. Oil-soaked pelicans and terns washed up on shorelines–tragic monuments to human folly and the destruction of a delicate balance. And always that stinging smell of oil that seeps into every pore and entangles sea grasses, oozes over beaches and blackens the marshlands.

Perhaps the largest marine disaster to happen in decades, and now considered the largest oil spill in the history of the United States, the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20, 2010 has led to an environmental catastrophe that continues without abatement and whose oily clutches extend from slicks on the ocean’s surface to deep swells near the ocean’s floor. Armed with mops and rags, seeming trifles compared to the magnitude of the oil’s reach, the human response to the disaster has been one of caution and vigilance. With no real solution in sight, coastal inhabitants, volunteers, even the government, can only try to redirect the slicks away from fragile coastal regions or don the tools of the domestic and use brooms and rubber gloves in an attempt to clean house. That, and wait.

While it goes without saying that the oil spill has led many consumers and legislators to question and call attention to our dependence on oil, the spill has also demonstrated to what extent our world is an ecological network, where the health and survival of one species depends on that of another; where the destruction of an environment may affect ecosystems across the planet. Carl Safina, president of the Blue Ocean Institute, has illustrated the importance of the Gulf Coast as an aviary highway and stopover for many migratory birds who depend on the food sources and breeding grounds found there. But with the toxic oil and dispersant residues permeating not only the shoreline and nesting habitats, but also killing and contaminating fish populations, the survival of bird species from as far north as the Canadian Arctic and as far south as the southern tip of South America is put in jeopardy.

We at Deep Roots Animal Sanctuary grieve for the lives, both human and non-human, lost to this terrible tragedy. While we mourn the ecological consequences of this catastrophic event and support efforts to clean-up and change energy consumption in the United States, we also recognize that habitat destruction and species endangerment is a chronic issue. That is why we at Deep Roots are dedicated to providing refuge and rehabilitation to wild birds and waterfowl. Now, more than ever, we need your help–bird species around the world need your help–to protect their livelihoods and preserve their futures.

If you would like to be a part of our efforts to rescue and protect birds and waterfowl, please visit us at deeprootssanctuary.org or contribute to our kickstarter campaign where we are raising money to build a bird rehab center.

We are excited to say that Suzie (pictured right, calmly sitting during a bath) left for her new forever home in Vermont this morning. Suzie first came to us in November of 2008. She was one of hundreds of animals rescued from a hoarding facility in Indianapolis. Suzie has always been very sweet, quiet, and cuddly. We assumed she would be one of the first of that batch of cats to find a new home. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to think that she would easily find a home, too, so she spent a year and a half with us… patiently waiting.

We always joked about Suzie being a creepy cat. That’s what we’ll miss most about her. She was just this tiny little ball of pitch black hair with huge golden eyes. She never said a peep. She loved people, but its as if she never wanted to be a burden. So you would be sitting there and look over to find Suzie quietly staring at you. Who knows how long she had been sitting there staring. It was at the moment that you looked at her that she would let out a silent meow and then take the few remaining steps toward you and put one paw on you to indicate that she wanted you to pick her up. She is adorable.

We couldn’t be happier with her new home, either. She is heading up to Vermont with Tessa and Jojo – two friends who have spent that past few months hanging out in Indiana to help with the sanctuary. We are sad to see them go, but at least they get to take a cuddly part of the sanctuary home with them.

Join us in wishing Suzie a great time with her new family.

Also, don’t forget to donate to our Kickstarter campaign and help rescue more animals. http://kck.st/crFbgq

GoodSearch will donate $1 (up to $5,000 total) for every toolbar that is downloaded between May 19th at 12 noon and May 21st at 12 noon Eastern! To help Deep Roots benefit from this contest, please download our toolbar now by following this link – http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/deep-roots-animal-sanctuary

Our new toolbar is free to download and allows you to raise money for Deep Roots virtually every time you search or shop online! Once added to IE or Firefox, each time you shop at more than 1,400 stores (from Amazon to Zazzle!) a percentage of your purchase will automatically be donated to our cause – at no cost to you (and you may even save money as the toolbar also provides you thousands of discount coupons and free shipping offers!). The toolbar also has a search box and each time you search the Internet, about a penny is donated to our cause.

Please hurry and do this now so that we can earn the $1 bonus per toolbar!

And, please pass this along to all of your friends. The two minutes it takes to add this toolbar to your browser can make a lifetime of difference for our cause!

Get the toolbar NOW! http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/deep-roots-animal-sanctuary