The University of New Mexico Libraries arranged donation boxes throughout campus last week to benefit the Santuario de Karuna, an animal sanctuary for abused farm animals that opened two years ago in Tijeras.
The Santuario de Karuna expressed a need for donations in the form of books about animals for children and adults, along with other materials that could benefit the educational events held at the organization’s site.
The sanctuary aims to create peaceful living to benefit animals who have come from violent pasts. This organization is a 501 (c)(3) volunteer-based, grassroots vegan farm that seeks to save neglected local farm animals.
Tamara Hubbard and Coral D. Rickets, who run the farm, are dedicated to creating happy, safe lives for the animals at the sanctuary.
“At the Santuario de Karuna, people get to meet these little packages, but people don’t realize that these little packages are animals,” Hubbard said. “(Visitors) get to form a relationship with animals.
The sanctuary houses 40 rescued animals and provides education opportunities about agriculture, Hubbard said.
“I’m a long-time vegan and animal rights activist, and I wanted to go the next level in that world, and I want people to meet who they eat,” she said.
Apart from volunteers, this organization is run entirely on donations. The donations are put toward helping the animals recover from violent pasts.
“The primary focus of our mission is humane education, which includes teaching the public about each species that resides here, at the sanctuary, allowing them to meet (the animals) as individuals rather than a commodity,” Hubbard said in a Santuario de Karuna press release.
At the end of the week, donation boxes were filled with art and educational supplies that Santuario de Karuna can use to further accomplish their mission.
“This donation event was successful, and a lot of art supplies (were) donated,” Hubbard said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s super fulfilling when people can see the effects of the work that we do.”
The Santuario de Karuna hopes to continue to work with UNM to spread the word about animal rights and the organization’s aim to help as many animals as it can to prevent further injustices and to promote peaceful and harmonious living.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“We would love to do this again,” Hubbard said. “There’s even a lot of grassroots and nonprofits that can benefit from these kinds of generous donations.”
The Santuario de Karuna is located in the Juan Tomas village in Tijeras and allows meditational visits to the animals by appointment.
Rebecca Brusseau is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She primarily covers the LGBTQ community. She can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @r_brusseau.
