Sanctuary

The inhabitants of Vine Sanctuary believe veganism represents the next step in evolution. Having experienced discrimination for their queer, gender non-normative and Arab identities, the human inhabitants of Vine Sanctuary came to animal rights advocacy from a background of social welfare, working with other activist movements to end sexism, racism and LGBTQ intolerance. Informed by these experiences, Vine built their philosophical model on the theories of the interconnectedness of oppression, extending the linkage between homophobia, classism, sexism, racism, violence, poverty and ecocide to equally include speciesism, the belief that human animals are superior to non-human animals. Vine advocates for the personhood of animals, attributing a higher level of social and emotional intention to animals than is widely accepted and proposing animals deserve to have their unique desires and rights valued. Vine’s existence and agenda in Vermont, a state that prides itself on a thriving localvore and humanely branded dairy and meat industry, does not always make them welcome with their neighbors. While vegan diet trends now enjoy regular attention in the media and visitor-friendly sanctuaries garner celebrity donations and a positive reaction from the public, Vine’s confrontational, ethically motivated veganism and aggressive activism place them on the fringe of the mainstream and often of the animal liberation movement. The sanctuary has therefore become as much a sanctuary for its human inhabitants as its animal residents. Home to animals who have escaped or been removed from the meat, dairy and egg industries, cockfights and pigeon-shoots, Vine is also home to humans who have removed themselves from a society that generally reacts negatively to their practices and beliefs. This leaves Miriam, Pattrice, Aram and Cheryl in an ideological and physical refuge, secluded yet committed to pushing beyond their walls to promote a belief system they find vital to the survival of both humans and animals.