Indraloka Sanctuary lets rescued farm animals feast in annual ThanksLiving event in Mehoopany
From a press release:
For most Americans, Thanksgiving is a day off to gorge on turkey with all the fixings before putting their feet up and watching football. The staff and friends of Indraloka Animal Sanctuary in Mehoopany have a very different view of the season – which involves feeding and caring for turkeys and other animals instead of eating them – and they invited everyone to share their animal-loving spirit.
Focusing on the original concept of the holiday as a harvest festival dedicated to caring and sharing, organizers of ThanksLiving 2017: A Celebration of Turkeys welcomed participants on Nov. 4 to admire and befriend turkeys, chickens, and other rescued animals in a unique celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday, our animal friends, and our own sense of compassion.
“This event was fun for the whole family!” said Indra Lahiri, Indraloka’s founder. “Spending the day at Indraloka and showing kindness to the types of animals that so rarely receive it in today’s world is something unique and special that everyone truly enjoyed. The Thanksgiving season is about celebrating love and sharing gratitude. We shared a meal with each other and our bird friends while giving thanks that we can all peacefully co-exist and enjoy good company.”
Co-emceeing Indraloka’s fifth annual ThanksLiving event was Dotsie Bausch, a 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist and animal rights activist who came all the way from Los Angeles.
“It was great to be part of Indraloka’s ThanksLiving!” Bausch said. “I love this organization and its mission and am so thrilled it was a successful event.”
Co-emceeing the event with Bausch was Fox News anchor and Indraloka supporter Paola Giangiacomo.
More than 175 people from across the U.S. joined them, Lahiri, and her dedicated staff of eight, along with 12 volunteers, to celebrate and learn more about the animal sanctuary’s goal of providing a “heaven on Earth” for farm animals that have nowhere else to turn. Founded in 2005, Indraloka is dedicated to informing, inspiring, and empowering the community, especially children, on ways to better care for the environment while helping animals in need.
Human attendees of ThanksLiving enjoyed a plant-based lunch catered by Parlor City Vegan and desserts by Batter & Crumbs, as well as live music by Hickory Project, a raffle, a silent auction, and more. The event raised more than $30,000 to support the care of Indraloka’s 300 animal residents.
Guests also feasted on the sight of turkeys, chickens, goats, and sheep residents of Indraloka eating a Thanksgiving banquet created specifically for them, including raw pumpkin pie, sunflower seeds, cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, a large green salad, grapes, squash, and other healthy and delicious treats. The animals that gobbled up the lavish spread included the guest of honor, a 16-year-old turkey named Tom, two other turkey residents named Shiva and Shakti, 82 chickens, Vanna the goat, and Marble the sheep.
Serving lavish Thanksgiving meals to turkeys can prove challenging and amusing given the inquisitive nature of these birds. With so many fresh goodies to choose from, where is a hungry turkey to start? Throw in their natural inclination to show off and stray from the herd and there was quite the Thanksgiving comedy show for guests.
Indraloka Animal Sanctuary is a private, nonprofit, charitable 501c3 organization that provides sanctuary for farm animals that have nowhere else to turn. Since being founded in 2005, Indraloka Animal Sanctuary has rescued and cared for well over 1,000 animals through their natural lives, while placing thousands more in homes and sanctuaries.
Indraloka and its dedicated staff are accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, an accomplishment achieved by only three farmed animal sanctuaries in the world. This accreditation status provides a clear and trusted means for public, donors, and government agencies to recognize Indraloka as an exceptional sanctuary. The sanctuary has garnered worldwide recognition, with followers on every continent and in over 100 countries, and has extended the reach of its humane education programs, stories, films, and speaking engagements to hundreds of thousands of people around the world.
See NEPA Scene’s photos of Lahiri speaking at the 2016 NEPA BlogCon here.
