Koki Sanctuary is home to hens, rabbits, pigs, cows, goats, sheep and other so-called farm animals rescued from commercial and ‘hobby’ farms. Our mission is to provide physical care for the rescued animals, restore their overall wellbeing and dignity, and enable them to live the rest of their lives in freedom and peace. Unfortunately, Koki’s current facilities are full and we’ve had to find temporary foster homes for several of our animals who will reside with trusted foster carers until we raise enough funds to buy additional land. We visit these animals regularly and pay their food and medical expenses.
The sanctuary is also responsible for pioneering educational programs on ‘farm’ animals, through which we raise awareness about these animals’ intrinsic needs, phylogenetically normative lifestyles, and psycho-physical health.
Koki Animal Sanctuary is regularly informing the public and schools through social media, public lectures, and interviews in mainstream media about the bio-psycho-social characteristics of farm animals and requirements for their wellbeing.
The Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Science have also expressed interest in and visited the sanctuary since the sanctuary offers a rare opportunity to observe animals in an environment that, unlike standard commercial farm settings, offers animals more adequate species-specific living conditions and greater opportunities for self-determination, including the freedom to interact with one another and form intersubjective bonds without the threat of such bonds being abruptly terminated for anthropocentric convenience (e.g. slaughter). Given the opportunity to live a life of dignity and moderate freedom, sanctuary animals tend to live longer than their counterparts on commercial farms. As a result, sanctuaries often face the problem of ageing animals developing medical conditions that are a direct result of genetic selection/manipulation aimed at increasing farm productivity and profitability. When such conditions arise on a farm the affected animal is killed. A sanctuary setting, on the other hand, will address any medical condition with the aim of helping the animal survive and restore their health. In this process the shortcomings of veterinary science are revealed, namely, when it comes to farm animals the focus is on prevention not cure. Koki Sanctuary has introduced new paradigms for the veterinary practice concerning farm animals in Slovenia (use of medicine and treatment) and has over the years successfully collaborated with numerous local veterinarians in the promotion of such.
