Amazing Animals

In their diversity of forms, abilities, and cultures, nonhuman animals ought to inspire awe and appreciation. Reject speciesism, ableism, and ethnocentrism by recognizing and respecting the many different ways that other animals solve problems, construct families and communities, and live in harmony with their ecosystems.

Our Multi-Species Community

Here at VINE Sanctuary, a handful of humans and hundreds of other animals cooperate to create a safe space for everybody. Read on to learn about the different kinds of animals at VINE, and then follow us on social media to meet and keep up with the goings on among sanctuary residents.

Sanctuary Residents*

CHICKENS

COWS

DUCKS

GOATS & SHEEP

PIGEONS

OTHER**

*As of December 15th, 2023

**Including geese, turkeys, alpacas, doves, emus, peacocks, guinea fowl, and one (exceptional) pig.

All About Chickens

Chickens are birds. Like all other birds, chickens love to be free. Left to their own devices, they will stay outside from dawn until dusk foraging, socializing, dust bathing, splashing in puddles, and perching on the low limbs of trees. They like to rest in the sun on winter mornings and nap in the shade on summer afternoons. Hens like to lay their eggs in a quiet spot, such as a hollow tree stump, and will make their own nests of grass hidden in the brush.

Descended from South Asian junglefowl, chickens love to roost in trees. The well-known “cockadoodle-doo” of the rooster evolved as a way for flock members to keep track of one another while foraging amidst dense foliage. Among wild junglefowl and flocks of feral chickens, roosters cooperate by taking positions along the edges of the foraging groups, crowing to keep in touch with each other as they look out for predators.

Roosters have two distinct alarm cries, one for aerial predators and another for ground predators. When one rooster sounds an alarm, all of the others join in as members of the flock take appropriate evasive action. No-one relaxes until the rooster who initially sounded the alarm crows an “all clear” signal.

Hens are similarly clever when it comes to constructing protected nesting spaces in which to brood eggs. During the three-week gestation period, hens leave their eggs only twice each day, for about 15 minutes each. After chicks hatch, they are schooled by their mother, who teaches them how to forage and eventually how to perch in trees to roost. Other flock members provide instruction in social skills, with adult roosters teaching juvenile roosters to respect elders and resolve conflicts without bloodshed.

Both hens and roosters form stable friendships, tending to prefer their own sex for everyday companionship. Each bird is a unique individual, however, so there are exceptions to every rule. Some birds are loners; others spend every minute with their friends. Some are gregarious, others shy. Some are timid but, despite the stereotypes, many others are very brave.

Most chickens don’t get to live their natural bird lives. Hens and roosters raised for meat typically are crowded into poorly ventilated sheds with tens of thousands of other birds of the same age and sex. They are trucked off to be killed at six or eight weeks of age, catching their first breath of fresh air only as they are on the way to a painful and terrifying death.

These large white birds, called “broilers” by the industry, have been genetically manipulated to grow very large very quickly. Those who are lucky enough to reach sanctuaries do not live as long as other chickens, due to the demands that their over-large breast and thigh muscles place on their skeletons and internal organs.

Hens in egg factories live longer but endure more torture. Confined in cages so small that they cannot open their wings or even lie down comfortably, they are driven mad by boredom, despair, periodic hunger, and chronic pain. After close to two years of such horror, they too are trucked off to slaughter for low-grade “meat” or simply buried alive in landfills.

Hens in smaller-scale facilities, including those that tout themselves as “humane” or “free-range,” also suffer due to constricted movement and still are killed when they stop laying. Many are de-beaked or subjected to forced molting. All come from hatcheries that have killed one male chick for every female chick they sell.

Chickens also are exploited for entertainment. The cruel spectacle of cockfighting is the most notorious example of that, but events in which chickens are chased, mocked, or tortured in some way remain woefully common in rural regions. Children often participate in such bullying of birds, thereby learning to disdain chickens.

Chickens also are victims of vivisection. Unprotected by the minimal animal welfare rules that limit what researchers may do to dogs or chimps, chickens may be and are subjected to any any whim of any scientist at any time.

The hundreds of chickens at VINE Sanctuary include “spent” hens from both massive egg factories and small-scale egg producers; roosters discarded by backyard hen enthusiasts; roosters seized by authorities from cockfighting rings; and both roosters and hens rescued from “meat” production and ritual slaughter.

Our sanctuary began as a refuge for chickens surrounded by factory farms, and so we have a special affinity for the large white hens and roosters who are dismissively called “broilers” or “roasters” by the poultry industry.

Our sanctuary was the first to figure out how to rehabilitate roosters used in cockfighting, and numerous former fighters mingle peacefully within sanctuary flocks.

Go vegan
Support the chickens at VINE Sanctuary
Tell everyone you know about the amazing abilities of chickens
Join our efforts to discourage backyard hen-keeping
Encourage bird-watchers and other fans of wild birds to see chickens as birds

All About Turkeys

When asked what has most surprised them, visitors to the sanctuary often exclaim, “the turkeys!” Highly social and inquisitive animals, turkeys tend to greet newcomers of all species with friendly curiosity.

Native to North America, turkeys are long-legged forest birds with dark, multicolored feathers that blend into the shadows cast by foliage. The white feathers of turkeys favored by the poultry industry are the result of many decades of forced breeding.

Turkeys communicate vocally and by body language. Turkey sounds include not only the familiar “gobble-gobble-gobble” but also a high-pitched and melodious trill. The dance done by male turkeys as a courtship ritual includes footwork and a display of feathers as well as sounds.

The fleshy growths on the featherless heads and necks of turkeys are called caruncles. These can change colors, almost like a mood ring. Normally red or rosy pink, they may become mottled with white or blue depending on the situation and emotion.

Following the conquest of the Americas by Europeans, wild turkeys in what is now the United States were hunted almost to extinction. While conservation efforts have led to recovery, these wild birds still face the trauma of being injured, killed, or losing family members to people with firearms and other weapons who consider killing to be a sport.

Turkeys raised to be killed for meat “know nothing of a natural life.” In breeding operations, males and females are kept separate. Farm workers ejaculate the males and then impregnate the females. Fertilized eggs are hatched in incubators, and chicks never meet their mothers. Chicks may be de-beaked to prevent them from injuring each other in the over-crowded sheds where they will spend the 16-24 weeks before being trucked to slaughter. This is true even on many poultry “farms” that market themselves as “humane.” Even on small-scale farms where “heritage breed” turkeys are allowed to mate and have some access to the outdoors, slaughter breaks up families and foreshortens lives. Slaughter itself is always a painful and terrifying experience. Therefore, the only way to be friendly to these very friendly birds is to refrain from eating them.

Turkeys have come to VINE Sanctuary from both factory farms and small-scale farms as well as from private homes. Notable turkey residents have included Mama T, who ruled the roost by bossing both roosters and people for several years after being rescued from a filthy and over-crowded shed, and Tiny Tom, whose shy but persistent energy charmed visitors and staff alike after he survived falling from a truck headed for a slaughterhouse. Both Mama T and Tiny Tom lived much longer than turkeys of their size usually do, but both died sooner than a turkey whose life had not been foreshortened by the genetic depredations of the poultry industry.

Lois and Pearl are luckier, in that they are “heritage breed” turkeys whose bodies are closer to those of the wild turkeys who make use of the land we preserve for wildlife here at the sanctuary. Lois loves to roam, visiting with people along the way. Pearl likes to supervise volunteers.

Since turkeys are so very sociable, they tend to make friends with other animals easily. Truffles the singular pig is an especial favorite of a group of three turkeys who managed to escape slaughter. They visit with her every day.

Don’t eat turkeys or sit silently while others carve up their bodies.
Tell everyone you know about all of the wonderful plant-based alternatives to the flesh of friendly birds.
Counter stereotypes whenever you can. Learn about turkeys, and tell people about them. The book More than a Meal by Karen Davis is a great place to start.
Support the turkeys at VINE Sanctuary.

All About Cows

The wild ancestors of today’s cows were called aurochs. Families of aurochs ranged freely through the forests of Europe, forming communities that we call herds.

Cows are not native to the Americas. Both “cattle” ranching and dairy farming are extensions of the conquest begun by Columbus, and both have had disastrous effects on the environment.

Just like us, cows prefer to choose their own partners and stay close to their families. Cows value relationships more than anything else. They will do anything to stay with their friends and family members.

Just like people, cows have different personalities. Some cows are outgoing while others are shy. Some are very talkative, mooing all the time, but others are very quiet.

Most cows are curious. When they want to know something, they can be very creative and determined. For example, a cow might use her long, strong tongue to unlatch a door to see what’s inside.

Calves run and play just like human children. When adult cows play with calves, they often let them win! Just like human children, calves love and want to be close to their mothers. Just like human mothers, cows will do anything they can to feed, protect, and stay close to their calves.

Cows readily make friends with other animals. Sometimes, here at the sanctuary, they let chickens ride on their backs!

Everybody knows that cows are killed for “beef,” but most people don’t realize that the terrifying and painful experience of slaughter is the culmination of a series of abuses. These typically include de-horning and castration without anesthesia, cramped and filthy feedlot conditions, and frightening and often injurious transport. Even “pasture-fed” cows on ostensibly “humane” ranches suffer many sorrows in the course of their foreshortened lives, often including the experience of witnessing friends and family members killed.

People who consider themselves vegetarian but still consume milk and cheese are often unaware that cows experience all of those injuries AND MORE in the course of dairy production. That’s why we encourage everybody to “demystify dairy.”

Like all mammals, cows produce milk to feed their own children. Just like us, cows only produce milk immediately after having a child. In order to obtain milk to sell, dairy farmers force cows to bear calves and then take the calves away from them. Typically, the cow is allowed to see and nurse her calf for one day, just long enough to get the milk flowing, and then the calf is taken from her.

Both mothers and calve protest and mourn this separation. The wailing is almost unbearable to hear, but dairy farmers and their families learn to ignore it. All cow’s milk—whether from far-off factory farms or local family farms—is the product of such suffering.

When a cow’s milk production slows, she again is forced to bear and lose a calf. This cycle is repeated until her body wears out and she is slaughtered for low-grade meat. Male calves are useless to the dairy industry, so they are sold to veal producers when possible. Male calves who cannot be sold may be shot or simply left to starve. Female calves are formula-fed until old enough to eat on their own. When they reach maturity, they suffer the same sad fates as their mothers, doomed to a cycle of forced impregnation, pregnancy, mourning, and mechanical milking that ends only when they are sent to slaughter to be made into low-grade “meat.” In the intervening years, cows at large-scale dairies may stand constantly on concrete. Even those at smaller farms where they are allowed to graze suffer the pain and frequent infections of being mechanically milked twice each day.

While this is no longer as common as it used to be, cows are still sometimes used as farm implements by farmers who yoke them together and force them to pull plows. Cows used in this way are often called “oxen,” but this is just a different word for the same animal. Training cows to accept the yoke and heed commands is a fear-based process that always involves some amount of physical abuse, usually with a whip of some kind.

Abuses of cows in entertainment include rodeos, bullfighting, and petting zoos. Our awareness of the many problems with putting nonhuman animals on display, to be stared at and touched by people who might or might not behave appropriately, is one reason why we do not advertise the sanctuary as an entertainment attraction nor invite visitors unless they can demonstrate their commitment to animal well-being or are willing to truly become part of our multi-species community by volunteering in some way.

The more than 40 cows at VINE Sanctuary include survivors of dairies, “beef” farms, and petting zoos. One hardy herd of about 30 cows roams our hilly and forested back pastures, often choosing to drink from ponds and brooks and sleep under the trees rather than availing themselves of the barn and water troughs we maintain for them. Notable members of that community include Jan, who jumped a “beef” farm fence to give birth to her calf Justin in the freedom of the fores, and Saorise, who also freed herself.

Elder, juvenile, and disabled cows mingle with chickens, sheep, ducks, turkeys, and geese in our front barn and pasture, also known as “The Commons.” Notable bovine members of that multi-species community include elder dairy survivors Autumn and Rose.

Follow VINE on Facebook and Instagram to meet more of the cows at VINE.

Go vegan
Support the cows at VINE Sanctuary
Join our efforts to demystify dairy by telling everyone you know the sorry truth behind cheese and ice cream
Become a Dairy Alternatives Project volunteer in your community, working to ensure that everybody can access and afford plant-based milks

All About Emus

Emus are large, flightless birds native to Australia whose fossils date back to five million years ago — long before humans existed. Their long, strong legs can reach speeds of over 40 mph, and their clawed feet (backed up by the muscles of those legs) make formidable weapons. Emus rarely fight, though, preferring flight and subterfuge to keep them safe. Their dappled brown and black feathers blend easily into shadowy foliage. An emu asleep looks like a rock or a pile of leaves. An emu’s head rising, feathers flared, from that lump looks just like a cobra getting ready to strike!

Emus are taller than any other bird save ostriches. Since they’re about the height of the average U.S. woman, it’s a familiar yet unsettling experience to walk with an emu on either side of you, like walking down the sidewalk with friends—but they’re birds! With sharp beaks! You can read a reflection on that experience here.

Emus are among the many nonhuman animals whose family lives do not correspond to human ideas about what is “natural.” Fathers hatch eggs and raise the young; females are the fighters.

The first people to migrate to the continent now known as Australia hunted emus with spears and nets, and by poisoning their drinking water. Later European immigrants to the continent upped the assault on these flightless birds, who they saw not only as sources of meat and fat but also as impediments to “progress” (by which they meant total subordination of nature to human whims). At one point—we are not making this up!–the Australian government used soldiers with machine guns to track and kill emus who, returning in the course of their usual migrations, trespassed onto lands now wanted for cash crop agriculture.

While once viewed as pests when living free in the land where their species evolved, emus have come to be increasingly prized as sources of meat and oil here in the United States. Here in Vermont, they are classified as farm animals and (mis)treated accordingly, with only the most minimal regulations concerning humane treatment of animals applying to them.

Three emus currently live at the sanctuary: Tiki, Breeze, and Muey. Tiki and Breeze had been bought as pets by a former dairy farmer who kept them and another emus in a small pen for many years. This was a grievous injury, as emus naturally walk all day, covering great distances. One of the trio escaped and was killed during recapture. After which tragedy, Tiki and Breeze (who are father and son) were allowed to come to the sanctuary. Previous emu inhabitants of VINE have included survivors of starvation and ill-treatment at petting zoos.

Emus at the sanctuary spend most of their days ranging along the perimeter of the front pasture. They’ve appropriated a ravine as their favored hang-out and sleeping spot, ignoring the shelter that we built for them except in the most extreme weather. On hot days, they enjoy bathing in a shallow pond or getting showers from a garden hose.

Ask your local food co-op or health food store to stop selling emu oil or emu flesh.
Support the birds at VINE Sanctuary.
Tell everybody you know that emus and other birds from far-off places belong in their own habitats, rather than on farms or in zoos.
Boycott and protest petting zoos, and be respectful when animal sanctuaries decline to invite you to come to look at or pet the animals.

All About Ducks

Ask any child (or adult) to draw or imitate a duck, and the first thing they will sketch or mime will be that distinctive bill. But most people don’t realize that, in addition to shaping those characteristic quacks, duck bills are responsible for remarkable feats of perception.

The sensitive tips of duck bills include both touch and taste receptors. These allow ducks to discern whether something will be good to eat just by brushing against it briefly. A built-in sieve allows them to easily separate the edible portions of a mouthful of water.

Like us, ducks mate and form families in a blooming profusion of ways. Some do “mate for life” in heterosexual pairs, but others form similarly long-lasting same-sex pairs or mixed-sex trios. Most male mallard ducks are functionally bisexual.

Ducks love to duck, dibble, and swim. Ducks must “duck” their heads under water regularly to keep their eyes healthy. When dibbling, ducks use their remarkable beaks to sieve nutrients from mucky mud puddles. Their webbed feet are made for paddling, and their water-repellent feathers keep them warm and dry even when floating in icy water.

Muscovy ducks are an amazing evolutionary off-shoot of the duck family. These large ducks roost in trees, aided by fearsome claws that also serve as weapons. Rather than quacking, they hiss like snakes. Muscovy drakes also communicate by raising and lowering the feathers on the tops of their heads.

Farmers exploit ducks for their feathers, flesh, and eggs. Hunters make a sport our of shooting wild ducks out of the sky. Ducklings given as pets endure loneliness and deprivation at the hands of children who cannot possibly meet the needs of waterbirds who are biologically primed to spend their days splashing and dashing around with other ducks.

In foie gras factories, ducks endure unspeakable cruelty. Caged or closely confined without access to water, they are force-fed via pneumatic tubes twice each day in order to deliberately produce the fatty liver disease that is the hallmark of this “delicacy.”

The first ducks at our sanctuary were rescued from a foie gras factory. We will never forget their gregarious gentleness. They were always kind to young chickens rescued from the local poultry industry, and they even sometimes adopted disabled chickens into their own flock. Two of those ducks, Jean-Paul and Jean-Claude, were a bonded pair who helped us to think through the connections between speciesism and homophobia.

ducks

Today, many dozens of ducks call the sanctuary home. Many mingle gladly with geese and wild waterfowl at “Seagull Pond,” named in memory of an especially fierce Muscovy duck who used to help out with rooster rehabilitation. Others prefer the more sedate pace of the coop and yard we call “Wayne’s World,” where they mingle with chickens and turkeys. Several “Indian Runner” ducks live up to their name by spending all day every day rushing around the grounds, encountering cows, sheep, and even emus along the way.

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Choose plant-based foods rather than duck “meat” or eggs.
Choose pillows filled with buckwheat or foam rather than feathers.
Boycott restaurants that serve foie gras.
Support the ducks at VINE Sanctuary.
Encourage children in your community to go bird watching, rock hounding, or hiking instead of duck hunting.

All About Peacocks

Like chickens, peacocks are native to South Asia.
Peacocks are the national bird of India, protected by law from being killed or harmed in any way.
While the term peacock is commonly used for both males and females, female peafowl may be called peahens.
In the jungles in which they evolved, the iridescent feathers of peafowl may protect them from predators.
When peacocks engage in courtship displays, they not only extend their feathers but also dance to a clicking sound created by shaking their feathers (it sounds a little like maracas being shaken).

Once considered a delicacy, the flesh of slaughtered peafowl is still sometimes used as “meat.”
Because their alarm cries are very loud, peafowl are sometimes impressed into service as guard animals.
Peacocks are most often farmed for their spectacular feathers, which are sold as decorations or as cat toys.
Peacocks are often impressed into service at zoos, where they may be liable to feather-plucking and other forms of harassment by tourists.

Peafowl live at the part of the sanctuary we call “up the hill,” mingling with roosters, geese, guineafowl and turkeys, to whom they are closely related. One of the peahens sometimes takes herself high into a tall tree to roost for the night, but they mostly sleep in the coops.

The peacock known as Rocky was one of our most extraordinary community members. He was known to court roosters, and he also enjoyed admiring his own reflection in the fender of our pickup truck. Of all the animals at the sanctuary — mammal and bird alike — he was the least wary of the emus. Once, when he felt threatened by them, he jumped up in the air with all of his tail feathers outstretched, scaring the much larger birds so much that they ran away! Today, the white peacock called Ice continues Rocky’s tradition of excellence.

Encourage respectful appreciation of bird beauty by way of non-intrusive bird watching and backyard bird feeding.
Support peacocks and other birds at VINE Sanctuary.
Don’t buy feathers taken from peacocks or any other birds.
Boycott and protest petting zoos, and be respectful when animal sanctuaries decline to invite you to come to look at or pet the animals.

All About Sheep

Always question stereotypes! Sheep are not sheepish, nor are they mindless followers. Quite the contrary! Here at the sanctuary, we have seen that sheep are persistent and creative problem solvers, so much so that we have had to repeatedly re-design structures to keep sheep from eating up all of the chicken scratch and emu feed.

Sheep ARE herd animals, depending on the social group for their own safety. Thus, they have very fine social skills, which they can and do use to get along not only with other sheep but also with members of other species. They communicate not only by voice but also with body language.

Sheep also have acute senses. Their widely spaced eyes, with their rectangular pupils, give them an exceptionally wide range of vision. Their sense of taste allows them to choose wisely among wild plants when grazing.

Sheep tend to be intrepid climbers and are able to use their cloven hooves as ice picks in the winter. While they will run from danger if that is the smartest choice, both rams and ewes (and especially ewes with lambs) will stand and fight. The head-butting games that sheep play may help to prepare them for such emergencies.

Sheep are among the hundreds of species of nohuman animals who collectively demonstrate that nature is, in the words of biologist J.B.S. Haldane “queerer than we suppose.” A small but stable percentage of both wild and “domesticated” rams are exclusively homosexual.

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Many people mistakenly believe that wearing wool doesn’t hurt sheep. In fact, sheep kept for wool suffer many injuries, including de-horning and tail docking. The process of shearing is inherently frightening to sheep, and commercial shearers have no motivation to be gentle when constraining sheep or careful while using blades that get very hot. Many sheep are sheared too soon in the season, leaving them vulnerable to exposure.

Of course, wild sheep don’t need to be sheared! The process of shearing has been made necessary only by the selective forced breeding of sheep to grow excessive coats. Like all animals “domesticated” by people, sheep bred for their wool production or any other human purpose suffer the indignity of reproductive control.

Ewes used for dairy or exploited to breed lambs for slaughter also suffer the unending grief of all mothers whose children have been snatched from them. Lambs and ewes who have been separated often cry for each other for days.

In addition to being exploited for their wool, milk, and flesh, sheep are sometimes the victims of cruel experimentation. Cloning and other forms of genetic engineering often lead to painful deformities, and these procedures are especially hard on ewes forced to carry and give birth to test-tube lambs, many of whom die during or before childbirth. Rams have been used in other kinds of experiments, including one notorious study where homosexual rams were killed so that their brains could be examined for the purpose of studying “the development and control of sexual motivation and mate selection.”

We hadn’t intended to include sheep among sanctuary residents, but then a little lamb suddenly appeared in the pasture one morning, presumably pushed through the gate by someone who saved him from slaughter but then didn’t know what to do with him. We called the little lamb Nigel. The cow called Buddy befriended him, but we knew that he needed at least one sheep friend. So, when asked to take in a young cow called Coco with HIS best friend, an older ewe called Lamby, we said “yes” gladly.

We’ve since made it a priority to welcome local sheep who have been exploited for their wool or their milk. Three ewes who had been used for wool (Olive, Lemon, and Sugar) have made a particularly big impact on the sanctuary, due to their willingness to give rides to roosters in the winter, a few of whom like to “take the sheep train” to the hay ring to avoid walking in the snow. Many of the birds enjoy roosting on the warm, wooly backs of sheep inside the barn, and none of the sheep seem to mind!

Choose plant-based fibers instead of wool.
Support the sheep at VINE Sanctuary.
Choose plant-based foods rather than sheep’s flesh or milk.
Support efforts to legalize the cultivation of hemp, which is a sustainable source of both fiber and non-dairy “milk.”
Counter stereotyping of sheep and other animals by sharing facts and stories on social media and in conversations.

All About Pigeons

Nobody knows how pigeons find their way home. The most common explanation for their remarkable navigational ability (magnetic fields) is probably wrong.
While cooperatively tending nestlings, both female and male pigeons produce a milk-like substance provoked by the same hormone—prolactin—that stimulates milk production in human mothers.
Pigeons can ace math tests because they are able not only to count but also to grasp abstract concepts.
Pigeons can fly as fast as 100 MPH and sometimes perform backflips in midair, evidently just for fun.

Sometimes called “squab,” pigeons are still raised and slaughtered for meat here in the United States and around the world.
Pigeon shoots, in which captive-born birds are released only in order to be shot, are a popular form of entertainment in some rural parts of the United States.
Pigeons have been and continue to be used as “lab equipment” by researchers in several different fields. Pigeons and other birds are not protected by the federal guidelines concerning treatment of animals in labs, so researcher may exploit them any way they please without any regard for their well-being. No-one knows how many pigeons and other birds are violated by vivisectors, because researchers are not obliged to report their uses of birds.
Due to their homing abilities, pigeons have been used as tools of war and conquest for many centuries. At least one country, and probably many more, still maintain reserves of pigeons drafted into their armed forces.
The homing abilities of pigeons are also exploited by people who participate in the “sport” of pigeon racing. In this cruel endeavor, pigeons may be forced to fly long distances through hazardous conditions to reunite with the partners or children to whom they are bonded.

Even though pigeons are raised and sold as “meat,” very few farmed animal sanctuaries welcome pigeons. The captive-born pigeons at VINE Sanctuary include survivors of pigeon shoots, meat markets, pigeon racing, and hoarding. We have two aviaries for pigeons, each of which includes a custom-built coop with nesting boxes that approximate the rock ledges in which pigeons prefer to roost in the wild.

Attached to or near each of these aviaries are additional nesting boxes for free-flying pigeons. These allow any pigeons who recover from any injuries that brought them to the sanctuary and who demonstrate sufficient survival skills to leave the aviary and begin to re-wild themselves.

Pigeons and doves are just different members of the same family. Here at VINE Sanctuary, we also have a room with attached aviary that is currently occupied by unreleasable captive-born doves, some of whom almost froze to death after a botched wedding release and some of whom were rescued from a hoarding situation.

Challenge stereotypes of pigeons as urban vermin by sharing information about these remarkable wild birds.
Support a pigeon at VINE Sanctuary for only $5 per month.
Encourage other farmed animal sanctuaries to extend refuge to pigeons.
Sign up for our newsletter, so that you will be sure to be notified when we launch a new campaign to build bridges between wild bird rehabilitators and farmed animal advocates. Let us know if you’d like to volunteer with such a campaign.