sanctuary

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Chile is for Animal Lovers

Those bound for South America this winter may enjoy dropping ın on two family-run sanctuaries in Chile: a desert hummingbird haven near Arica, and a small-town monkey refuge outside Santiago.

Centro de Prımates Peñaflor

Humans are the only primates native to Chile but–as in the U.S.–some keep illegally-imported exotic cousins as pets.  When a boy knocked on the Almazán-Lopez family’s door in 1994, offering to sell a monkey he carried in a box, the family’s four children thought the animal looked miserable, and convinced their parents to buy him.

Three capuchin monkeys peer out of their enclosure.

They named the monkey Cristobal and learned to care for him, relying in part on the experience of Carlos Almazán, 63, a pediatrician. As word got around their community, the family began to receive other monkeys in need.
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Farmers and Advocates to Discuss Humane Farm Bill at Xavier

Farmers and animal advocates will give Cincinnatians plenty to chew on in the coming week, during two public discussions of Ohio’s proposed farm animal cruelty prevention bill.  By requiring that pigs, chickens, and veal calves have enough space to stretch their limbs, the bill would require the state’s industrial mega-farms to operate more like the small, traditional animal farms which they have squeezed to a small corner of their market.  Aimed at protecting animals, the bill would likely reduce the competitive disadvantage at which these small farms find themselves.  In the long run, farmers and “slow food” enthusiasts hope it might keep small-scale farming viable for younger generations.

Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, will speak Saturday afternoon about his work and Ohio’s bill.
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