Greetings,
cheerful viewers,
and welcome to
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Today we’ll travel to
New York, USA’s
picturesque Hudson Valley
to visit the loving
Catskill Animal Sanctuary,
founded by
former teacher and
animal advocate
Kathy Stevens and
Jesse Moore.
Ms. Stevens has written
a book about this special
place called “Where
the Blind Horse Sings:
Love and Healing
at an Animal Sanctuary.”
Located in the
Catskill Mountains, the
40-hectare haven is home
to farm animals who
have been rescued from
cruelty and neglect.
Since its establishment
in January 2001,
the Sanctuary has saved
over 1,500 animals,
with some now
living permanently
at the facility and
the rest having been
successfully re-homed.
We have right now
about 250 animals from
12 different species.
We’re a sanctuary
for farm animals, so
we have horses, donkeys,
pot-bellied pigs, sheep,
goats, cows, ducks,
chickens, geese, rabbits
and turkeys.
Right now we’ve got
about 20 to 30 of
every different species.
We’ve got about
30 horses;
we’ve got 20-some cows.
We’ve expanded a lot
in the last year,
new pastures, new barns.
We’ve got a lot more
room right now for
the middle-sized animals,
pigs, sheep and goats.
Kathy Stevens, a vegan,
grew up on a horse farm
in Virginia, USA and
has always had a special
connection with animals.
Deciding to follow
her heart’s call to help
our gentle fellow beings
in need, she made
a pivotal career change
some years back.
I had been a teacher for
10 years, a high school
English teacher, and
I was offered a job as
the principal of a new
high school opening in
Boston, Massachusetts
(USA) and I found myself
turning the job down.
And I thought, “Hmm,
what do I want to do
for the rest of my life?”
And so I took some time
off and I really did some
very serious searching.
I took lots of long walks
in the woods with my dog
Murphy, I spoke with
friends and finally
what came to me was that
I wanted to combine
the love that I’d always
had for animals and
my knowledge that
they’re really not so
very different from
human beings with
my passion for education
and my belief that
education,
if it’s done properly,
is a transformational
experience, and so
from those two passions
the idea of running
an educational sanctuary
was born.
With passion
and determination,
Ms. Stevens created the
Catskill Animal Sanctuary,
a safe, healing place
for abused and
abandoned farm animals.
What we do at Catskill
Animal Sanctuary is
let a number of animals
free range,
which means they walk;
they’re not confined
in pastures or stalls.
They walk anywhere
they would like on this
big piece of property.
And the reason we do that
is because we believe
it’s so important
for every animal to heal
in his own way
and at his own pace.
Through workshops
and school programs,
the Sanctuary provides
opportunities for people
to learn about
and understand
the sentient nature of
our fellow beings, and
the severely detrimental
impacts of factory farming
on animals, humankind
and our precious,
shared planet.
We offer this place as a
facility for school groups
from underprivileged
communities to
come without charge.
And we create different
programs depending on
the kids’ backgrounds,
ages, interests, etc.
I also go all over the state
as a speaker, primarily
to schools because I’m
very interested in working
with school children.
So those are some of
the ways that people can
take part in what we do.
Surprisingly
the farm animals at
Catskill Animal Sanctuary
do not necessarily
come from rural areas.
Some come from the
largest metropolis in the
US – New York City!
People who find animals,
and many of our animals
do come from Manhattan
(New York City),
goats wandering around
the streets, and ducks
and chickens; many of
our sheep, goats, ducks
and chickens have come
from New York City,
interestingly.
We try to take
every single animal
we have room for.
We’ll do our best,
either to take them in
or to find
a suitable placement.
Now let’s meet some
of the joyful animal
residents of the Catskill
Animal Sanctuary.
This is Lumpy.
Lumpy is a Merino sheep,
he’s a very, very
old sheep.
He and his friends, Aries
and Hannah and Rambo
enjoy the whole property
all day long.
Normally, they’re
much more active but
because it’s cold today,
they all hanging out
in here where it’s warmer.
Hi Lump, hi, Lumpster.
Say “Hi, hero!”
say “Hi, hero!”
“Welcome to Catskill
Animal Sanctuary!”
All of these animals
are quite good friends.
The two chickens are
Cheyenne and Barbie,
both of whom
the poultry industry
refers to as “broilers.”
Because they’ve been
made to grow so quickly,
they become
very overweight and then
they suffer
all the health problems.
Same with the two turkeys,
Nicole and Agent 44.
These birds in a normal
environment should
live well into their teens.
Alright,
I’ll give you a scratch;
I’ll give a scratch.
This is Charley our
senior pot-bellied pig.
And this animal right here,
the most amazing
animal I’ve ever met,
I’ll tell you lots of stories
about Rambo.
Hi, Rambo.
When we return,
Kathy Stevens will share
with us how the highly
intelligent Rambo saved
the lives of his friends.
Please stay tuned to
Supreme Master
Television.
I always had that chance
to connect in a deep way
with animals, so animals
have been my life and an
important part of my life
since I was about
two years old.
I love these animals;
I am surrounded by love!
I feel like I’m really
the luckiest person alive,
and love lives here,
and that’s what counts.
Welcome back to
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Today we’re visiting
the Catskill Animal
Sanctuary, located
in New York,
USA’s Hudson Valley.
The haven was
co-founded by vegan
animal advocate and
author Kathy Stevens.
Ms. Stevens now shares
her most memorable
experience with one of
the Sanctuary’s animals.
The most remarkable
animal, certainly
the one I consider
my greatest teacher, is
an animal named Rambo.
He has these great,
curled horns like this;
they probably weight
20 pounds apiece.
Rambo was our first
free range animal.
Rambo sleeps in the middle
of the barn every night,
he has his special bed.
I go to the barn
every night to check on
the animals, and I went
into the barn one night
and I said “hallo”
to everybody; Rambo
was there in his bed,
I didn’t notice that
anything was wrong, so
I came back to the end
of the barn and I said,
“Good night, animals!”
Rambo gets up from
his bed, runs up to me,
looks at me, “Baaaaa.”
And I said, “Tell me
what’s wrong.”
Because he might
as well have said,
“Something’s wrong!”
He turned around,
he walked halfway down
the barn, and he walked
into this empty stall to
tell me that the turkeys
were not in the stall.
We had left them out;
it was a cold, bitter
November night.
They would have spent a
miserable night outside.
I couldn’t believe what
I had just witnessed.
I went, got the turkeys,
brought them in,
dried them off,
and I was weeping.
He knew
something was wrong.
He found a way to tell
a human being.
He knew that I would
help them or he wouldn’t
have gone to this effort,
which told me that
he truly understands
what Catskill Animal
Sanctuary is all about.
He cared about the
well-being of two animals
of a different species.
That was maybe the
most remarkable thing
I have ever experienced
in my entire life, and it
completely changed me.
And it made me
understand that
the problem is not that
animals are limited or
even so very different
from us, the problem is
that we don’t slow down
enough to take the time to
see them for who they are.
So nobility, courage,
compassion;
absolutely you see that
in a lot of them.
He’s the most
extraordinary, as I said,
teacher I’ve ever had.
Under the affectionate
care of the Catskill
Animal Sanctuary staff,
animals of different species
live together happily,
sharing an abundance
of love with one another.
The warmth of this true
kinship extends beyond
shape, color and size.
We’ve got
a free range horse,
many free range pigs,
many free range ducks,
chickens, sheep
and turkeys.
And we have found that
absolutely they form
friendships across species.
We have two chickens
and two turkeys who
really love each other.
We have a sheep and
a pig who fall asleep
together in a bed of hay.
So, just like human beings
have learned that
superficial differences,
like race and gender
don’t matter,
animals figure out that
species doesn’t matter,
it’s much more about
a connection that’s
much deeper than that.
In 2007, Kathy Stevens
released her first book,
“Where the Blind Horse
Sings: Love and Healing
at an Animal Sanctuary,”
which depicts a world
where distinctions
between “human” and
“animal” disappear
and care and affection
overcome years
of neglect and abuse.
I had to write the book
because I didn’t know
that a former fighting
rooster would hop into
my lap and fall asleep.
I didn’t know that
he’d want to eat lunch
with us every day.
I didn’t know that
on a cold night when
I had to bring him up
to the house because
he couldn’t be with
the other roosters that he
would crow his head off,
until I put him in my bed
because he wanted
company!
And so I had to write
the book, I had to tell
those stories that
changed my life, because
I think if people saw
these animals as so few
get the opportunity to do,
then maybe it will
encourage a few people
at least to start to say,
“Well, if this is who
they are, do I really
want to eat them?”
So that’s why
I wrote the book.
A lot of times I get emails
from people saying, “I
became vegetarian
after I read your book.”
And I think
our job is very simple;
the animals are the ones
who convince the people,
we just have to get people
to read the book,
or to come here and
connect with the animals.
We applaud Kathy Stevens
for saving the lives
of so many of our
vulnerable animal friends.
May all people similarly
choose to always show
kindness to animals and
adopt the vegan lifestyle.
For more details on
the Catskill Animal
Sanctuary, please visit
“Where the Blind Horse
Sings” is available at
Graceful viewers, we
enjoyed your company
on today’s program.
Please join us tomorrow
on Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants for
the second and final part
of our interview
with Kathy Stevens.
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment
after Noteworthy News.
May our lives always be
blessed by Divine light.
The raw vegan lifestyle
has brought hope to
numerous people in Iran.
When you get to know
this method,
you get peace of mind,
from every perspective;
your sleep improves.
With the raw food,
your body immune system
improves, and you will
never become ill again.
Please join us for
Part 1 of “Iran’s
Natural Nutrition Society:
Promoting
the Rejuvenating
Raw Vegan Diet”
Monday, April 12
on Healthy Living.
Greetings,
determined viewers,
and welcome to
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Today we once again travel to
New York, USA’s
picturesque Hudson Valley
to visit the loving
Catskill Animal Sanctuary,
founded by
former teacher and
animal advocate
Kathy Stevens
and Jesse Moore.
Ms. Stevens has written
a book about this special
place called “Where
the Blind Horse Sings:
Love and Healing
at an Animal Sanctuary.”
Located in the
Catskill Mountains, the
40-hectare haven is home
to farm animals who
have been rescued from
cruelty and neglect.
Since its establishment
in January 2001,
the Sanctuary has saved
over 1,500 animals,
including cows, goats,
sheep, donkeys, pigs,
rabbits, turkeys,
chickens, ducks and geese
with some now
living permanently
at the facility and
the rest having been
successfully re-homed.
The Sanctuary works
to raise public awareness
about the loving nature
of our charming
animal co-inhabitants.
We have tours
every weekend between
April and October.
Lots of children come;
it’s a very, very
joyful place.
People can sit down
and kiss a pig
and hug lots of horses.
It’s a very warm
and spontaneous tour.
What happens
depends a lot on what
free range animals are
approaching us on a tour.
Hallo, girls.
Hallo, beautiful girls.
Buddy. This is Buddy.
And Buddy is the horse
who’s on the jacket of
my book “Where
the Blind Horse Sings.”
Hi, boy. Hi, boy.
Hi, lovely.
Buddy has been here
many years,
he’s fully blind.
Just like humans,
blind animals adapt very
well and very quickly
to their environment.
Their hearing is generally
amazingly acute,
and most of them
develop friendships with
sighted animals and they
really do adjust quite well.
Now these four mares,
this is Icy,
the white one is Icy.
This one is Echo,
this is Eloise,
and this is Dakota.
Now Dakota has just
been placed in this field
about two hours ago and
it’s interesting that
these two have connected
so quickly.
Hi, you look like
you are long lost friends.
Hi, yes, you do.
The compassionate work
of the Catskill
Animal Sanctuary
is an inspiration
for all visitors.
People’s hearts
open up here.
Somebody will say,
in tears, “I had no idea
this is who they were.”
“I didn’t know cows
were so affectionate!”
and “These animals
are so happy!”
People come down here
and they feel the joy and
that’s what they express.
Out of her deep concern
for animals,
for future generations
and for our Earth,
Kathy Stevens is starting
Camp Kindness to
help children get closer
to our affectionate
animal friends, help them
understand animals’
sentience and intelligence,
and teach them the value
of compassion for all life.
It is going to encompass
animal care, farm chores,
gardening, and
a daily cooking class
with our vegan chef.
We believe that
there would be a lot more
vegetarians and vegans
in the world if people
had had an exposure to
animals as a young child
and saw them the way
we know them to be.
And also to have these
kids get their feet dirty
and get their hands dirty
and work in the garden
and see how food grows,
and to have
that connection
with the Earth we feel
will foster a respect
that we would like to
encourage for the planet.
Residents of the Catskill
Animal Sanctuary
embrace and welcome
visitors into a world
of joyful delights.
Each of the animals has
a unique personality
and cuteness.
They are some
happy birds.
They were talking,
I don’t know if you heard,
but they were talking up
a storm when we were
standing out there.
Ten chickens are
as different
as 10 human beings.
There are things that
make you unique.
There are universal
chicken traits; they love
to take dust baths,
to flap their wings
and kick up the dust,
and it helps them
keep away parasites.
They love to explore
their environment.
They are very, very, very
devoted and protective
parents.
But we’ve had
outgoing chickens,
very shy chickens, we had
a chicken who used to
fall asleep in our laps,
we had a chicken who
ate lunch with us,
and we had a chicken
I took for car rides.
Smart, playful animals
such as the pigs
always brighten up
their caregivers’ days!
We have had to put
five different locks
on the kitchen to keep
the pigs from figuring out
how to get in the kitchen.
So that’s just
one funny story.
Pigs are bright, and
we’re always having to
outwit the pigs.
So that’s the most
obvious example
of their intelligence.
I mean the biggest
surprise to me has been
in their ability to
communicate what
they want to humans, and
all the species are
pretty good at that.
Through years of
experience and interaction,
Kathy Stevens has
developed a deep,
subtle understanding of
the Sanctuary’s residents,
just as a loving mother
understands her children.
Animals have very,
very powerful ways of
communicating and if we
were just more receptive
we would see
what they were.
People who come and go
on tours and certainly
people who volunteer,
it starts to become easier
and everybody here
realizes there’s
so much more internally
in an animal than
any of us ever knew.
When we return,
Ms. Stevens will
share more about
the caring work of the
Catskill Animal Sanctuary.
Please stay tuned to
Supreme Master
Television.
Welcome back to
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Today we’re visiting
the Catskill Animal
Sanctuary, located
in New York,
USA’s Hudson Valley.
The haven was
co-founded by vegan
animal advocate and
author Kathy Stevens.
I am vegan.
I don’t eat any
animal products.
When I was in my
mid-20s, I started learning
about the health impact
in terms of
the high cholesterol
and high fat of beef
in particular.
And at that point I started,
from a health point
of view, cutting out
one meat at a time.
But many years later
when I decided to open
an animal sanctuary, I
spent some time touring
other sanctuaries
in this country, and
I’ll never forget seeing
a film that many of
your viewers might know,
it’s called
“Meet your Meat,”
and it’s filmed
inside a slaughterhouse.
And seeing the horrors
of that film and
utter terror on the faces
of the animals led me
down a path of really
wanting to not to harm
another living thing.
So I very quickly went
from being vegetarian
to being vegan
as a result of that film.
Intensive animal
agriculture, such as
concentrated animal
feeding operations cause
immense suffering to our
animal friends and have
horrific consequences
to the environment.
Kathy Stevens helps
to inform visitors
to the Sanctuary of
the devastating impact
of factory farming on
animals, humans and our
precious, shared planet.
Factory farming is one
of the primary causes
of global warming.
What most people
don't consider is where
the animal waste goes.
On this planet, we grow
65-billion animals a year
to feed
a human population of
less than seven billion.
We don't have septic
systems for animal waste.
It goes into
the groundwater,
it goes into the rivers.
We are literally killing
our rivers and bays.
We’re destroying
the Amazon that's
so important to us
environmentally, because
we’re taking down
all the trees,
to either graze cattle,
or grow the products
to feed the cattle.
So there are innumerable
consequences,
from methane to
toxic water, to toxic air.
And we don't need to
eat them for our health.
So why, if there's
a better way that's kind
to them and kind to
the planet and tastes
good, and is healthy,
why wouldn't people
at least try that way?
To promote the
life-saving vegan diet as
the most effective means
we can use to help save
our planetary abode, the
Sanctuary has introduced
the Compassion Cuisine
program.
We’ve just hired
a vegan chef and
so we will be offering
cooking classes, and
the new chef will offer
his services, both to
Sanctuary members
and volunteers and
to the general public,
doing a whole range of
things designed to help
people who are curious
about a vegan diet,
interested in developing
a diet that’s
more compassionate, or
need to change their diet
for medical reasons.
We just want to
give people the tools
they need to feel
confident in the kitchen,
to believe and to
experience for themselves
that vegan food
is delicious.
So he’ll be doing quick
afternoon workshops,
he’ll be doing
extended courses, he will
offer his services to go
to do cooking classes
and cooking parties
in people’s homes.
All animals
at the Sanctuary
are given a nutritious
plant-based diet tailored
to their individual needs
and requirements.
These animals are
plant-eaters, so
their diets are vegan.
We make sure that
they’re having a healthy
diet and they are not
eating other animals,
in essence. Here!
This one gets this
combination of foods
and this one gets this
combination of foods,
and this one gets some
bananas because he
needs it for his digestion,
and this one gets
some supplements,
like vitamin E,
sometimes for skin or
“glucosamine” for joints.
Everyone eats something
different.
The ruminants, the cows,
goats and sheep,
their diets are hay.
The horses’ diets and
the rabbits’ diets are
very simple, but
the other animals really
have very individual diets
based on their age,
whether they’re
overweight or underweight,
and whether they’re
missing teeth,
and whether they have
digestive problems.
Oh, we have a huge
board in the feed room,
with every single animal
on the farm listed
with his individual recipe
under his name.
The selfless,
unconditionally loving
nature of animals
constantly inspires and
touches Ms. Stevens and
the staff at the Sanctuary.
There’ve been animals
who so clearly thank us
for taking them out of
their environments.
There are animals who
share in a way
that’s very generous.
There are animals
who comfort animals
of other species.
So what I’ve learned
from running this place
is that it’s important to
treat each animal
as an individual.
If you do that, they know
you’re doing that.
And they free up, and we
watch these remarkable
things take place, things
that have changed my life
and that I can’t wait to
share with the world.
In recognition of their
wholehearted dedication
to the care of animals
and endeavors such as
Camp Kindness,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
is honoring the
Catskill Animal Sanctuary
with the Shining World
Compassion Award.
Congratulations and
our sincere thanks go to
Director Kathy Stevens and
the staff of the Sanctuary
for creating
an Eden on Earth for our
beloved animal friends.
We also thank them
for their noble efforts
in promoting the loving
vegan lifestyle to help
save our precious planet.
May the beautiful
Catskill Animal
Sanctuary continue to
thrive and be
an inspiration to us all.
Cherished viewers,
thank you for
your company today
on Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment
after Noteworthy News.
May compassion
and virtue always bloom
within all of us.
The eye-opening
documentary “Earthlings,”
directed by
vegan filmmaker
Shaun Monson makes
clear the shocking way
animals on land and sea
are ruthlessly tortured
and exploited
by the meat industry.
I recommend everyone
to take a moment
to watch “Earthlings.”
You should at least know
what you're doing and
what you're contributing
to when you
do participate in some of
these industries
unknowingly, because
most of us don't know.
And it's all about
informing and provoking
people to think.
Please join us for our
presentation of Part 3
of this important
documentary,
Tuesday, April 13,
on Stop Animal Cruelty.