Our Mission:
Shy 38 Inc. is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization in Kansas. We are dedicated to creating new attitudes about industrialized farm animals by promoting cruelty-free living, providing a compassionate public humane education program, and offering opportunities for interaction with our rescued residents.
Our organization will benefit the entire Kansas City Metro as it will offer volunteer opportunities and take in rescued farm animals in the area.
Our story:
Five years ago my family moved into a house in Tonganoxie, KS. There is a pasture next door, and each Spring/Summer, that pasture is occupied by a herd of cattle. As a lifelong animal lover, vegetarian, (now vegan), animal activist, I'd never really "met" a cow up close. My kids and I have so much fun watching them, but what I never knew was that they all have their own unique personalities. The hierarchy of the herd is really interesting, and they can be quite fun to watch. Shy 38 is named after one of those cows. Her tag said "38". But like the rest, she was an individual. In 2015, Shy 38 Inc. was founded, with the mission to become a Kansas Farm Sanctuary.
Over the past several years, we've seen the cows come and go, some return year after year; others do not. Some of them are very friendly and curious, others are shy and keep their distance. We gave them names - did you know a cow can learn her name and come when called? Separated by a fence, we see the calves trying to play with our dogs. We see the cows nurse and love on their babies, and we see their babies get taken away. We hear the cows call for them day and night and search the field frantically with the same determination you or I would have if someone took our children from us.
As a parent of a child with special needs, I saw something else. I saw the connection my daughter has with these animals and the calming effect they have on her as someone who struggles with an anxiety disorder. So, a farm sanctuary in this area has the potential to not only benefit animals, but could make a significant impact on children struggling with mental illness, and we would eventually like to develop a program like this for our community.
While the cows next door are not factory-farmed animals, they will eventually suffer the same fate as those who are: the slaughterhouse, where they'll be killed years before their time, and die frightened, stressed and fighting for their lives. But local farmers aren't where most of our food comes from. Over 98% of the meat we purchase in grocery stores in the U.S. was raised and processed on factory farms.
Merriam-Webster gives this definition for "Factory Farm": "a large industrialized farm on which large numbers of livestock are raised indoors in conditions intended to maximize production at minimal cost."
Animals on factory farms endure painful mutilation, unnatural reproduction, confinement, and are denied every basic natural instinct up to the point that they are killed. Factory farms account for 99.9% of chickens used for meat, 97% of laying hens used for eggs, 99% of turkeys, 95% of pigs, and 78% of cattle sold in the U.S. Over 56 Billion farmed animals are killed annually - excluding fish and other sea creatures which are caught by the billions each year to be suffocated or boiled alive.
A cow's natural lifespan is 20+ years, but on a dairy farm, she barely reaches 2 or 3. She is repeatedly artificially inseminated (because to give milk, she has to have a calf), then her calves are taken away from her sometimes just hours after birth. The babies either end up on a veal farm, raised for the dairy industry, or thrown away like trash.
Male chicks within the egg industry are useless, and so they are suffocated, gassed or minced alive after hatching. Broiler chickens' beaks are seared off without anesthetic, crammed into cages and are bred to grow so large so fast that their legs can no longer support the weight of their bodies. They often have broken bones or heart attacks.
Social, intelligent pigs are forced into cages so small that they can't even perform the simple act of turning around. Most of them have respiratory illness when they are slaughtered and the only time factory farmed pigs get to see/feel sunlight is through the slatted walls inside the livestock transport trailer carrying them to their deaths. Within the walls of a factory farm, animals are no longer animals with the ability to think and feel; they are reduced to " livestock units". They are victims of large corporations' need to keep up with supply and demand.
Factory farms not only impact the welfare of the animals, but are wreaking havoc on our environment and public health as well. They are responsible for water and air pollution and the depletion of the rain forests which has resulted in many species' extinction.
Check out Food and Water Watch's Factory Farm Map here.
A farm sanctuary in KANSAS?
I know, it sounds weird. I live in a small farming community and have always been alone in my quest to "save the animals". It has been a passion of mine since I was a child. I grew up with animals and have always had pets. I have worked for a Humane Society, and as the volunteer coordinator of a national nonprofit animal welfare organization. I took college coursework in Humane Education and have taught humane education classes.
Last Fall, factory farm giant, Tyson Foods tried to build a 300 million dollar poultry "complex" in our community.
Read about it here: No Tyson in Tongie
And here: Tyson plans on Hold
Also here: Small town stands up to Big Ag
There's no Tyson in Tonganoxie, but even more good came from this. People in my small town came together, did their research and found out where their store-bought meat comes from, how the animals and workers are treated there, and how our air, water, and health would suffer if we lived near a factory farm.
Plus this news: Veganism is up 600% since 2014 with 6% of Americans now eating a plant-based diet. This is huge growth and is only expected to continue, as more and more consumers are realizing the cruelties of factory farming, and the health benefits of a vegan diet. Check it out here.
There is no better time and no better place to make our mission a reality! We are currently seeking land in rural Leavenworth County, KS.
What types of animals will find peaceful sanctuary at Shy 38 Farm? Unfortunately, there is no shortage of farm animals needing help, whether from owner relinquish, neglectful situations, or animals that escape transport to slaughter. These include: cows, goats, pigs, chickens, sheep, turkeys, etc...
Last year, two cows did just that - they fell off the truck that was taking them to slaughter, near Olathe, KS. With no local sanctuary to take them in, the two girls, now Betty and Veronica, will live out their lives peacefully at Rowdy Girl Sanctuary in Texas.
This rescue was possible because thankfully, Kansas City has some wonderful animal welfare organizations like Kansas City Animal Save, whose volunteers stepped in to save them. We believe Betty and Veronica won't be the only ones to find themselves in this predicament, and we want to be ready when it happens again.
What do we need to make this possible for Kansas?
Land
Trailer
Fencing
Truck
Tractor
Barns/Shelters
Ongoing donor support for veterinary services and operating expenses
Volunteers
ALL donor contributions are tax deductible.
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Kansas is ranked 10th in the nation for hog inventory, producing 2.7% of the country's total. As of 2017, Kansas had aprox. 1000 hog farms and produced over 600,000,000 pounds of pork. Even after this news: Processed Meat linked to Cancer
And the Carcinogenicity of Red Meat.
Kansas milk production as of December 2017 totaled 298 million pounds with an average number of dairy cows at 153,000.
We believe millions of people are still unaware of the devastating effects of factory farms. Everyone should know how their food got to their plates. We believe that if the majority of consumers knew the truth, and could see that "food animals" were thinking, feeling, sentient beings, many would change their habits and attitudes toward industrialized farm animals.
We want local youth to be able to interact with rescued farm animals through a compassionate humane education program. Our long-term goal is to extend this program to include animal therapy for children with anxiety disorders.
We know we can make this dream a reality, with your help!
Every dollar donated is greatly appreciated and puts us closer to reaching our goals.
Want to help make 2018 the best year yet for Kansas' farmed animals?
Let's build a Kansas Farm Sanctuary!
