In Spain, sanctuaries give forever homes to rescued farmed animals

“Sometimes I honestly just cry looking at them, from happiness.”

Carla Heras, a volunteer at Santuario Gaia in Camprodon, Spain, cradles Laietana the duck. Laietana is one of 1,500 animals—most rescued from the streets and the farming industry—living at the sanctuary. Gaia is among a few dozen sanctuaries in Spain providing a home to animals previously farmed for food.

When Elena Tova rescued a sick pig on a whim nearly 15 years ago, she had never heard of the concept of an animal sanctuary. “Sanctuaries didn’t exist in Spain. The word didn’t exist,” she says, explaining she’d only ever heard “santuario” used in a religious context.

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