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Indonesia’s first animal sanctuary for farmed animals

Tucked away on the island of Sumatra is Indonesia’s first and only sanctuary for farmed animals. Sehati Animal Sanctuary is fully owned and operated by Loo Shih Loong and Sing Hui, a couple dedicated to helping as many lives as possible. The sanctuary, whose name translates in English to ‘one heart’, is home to a variety of animals rescued from the meat industry. Over 300 animals call this place home, including pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens and sheep. There are also over 40 dogs and 9 cats that live here.

So how did Loo and Liong come to start a sanctuary in the first place?

Indonesia's first animal sanctuary for farmed animals
Some of the resident pigs at Sehati Animal Sanctuary

The sanctuary was founded in 2017 in the city of Dumai by the husband-wife team; however, the roots for the project took place earlier. Sing was gifted three piglets from her uncle to bring her comfort after the death of her mother, and a further two from her father. After a few months, Sing was asked to return the piglets, who, by this point she had bonded with. She refused to give back the five little pigs she had nurtured, and by 2017 the sanctuary came into fruition.

Sing and Loo have poured their hearts and their money into the sanctuary. They used their savings to buy a plot of land for the animals to live on and their sanctuary soon grew in size. Their dedication to the residents of the sanctuary is so great that they borrowed from relatives and pawned their gold just to keep up and running.

The Future

Indonesia's first animal sanctuary for farmed animals
Some more animal residents

In December 2020, the sanctuary’s luck began to change for the better! A group of people in Bali heard about Sehati, and decided they wanted to help. Across the globe there will now be a series of crowdfunding events to help raise funds for the sanctuary. This November is the month to ‘Save Sehati’. The goal is to raise 1 Billion Indonesian Rupees ($93,697 AUD; $69,542 USD) to revitalise the sanctuary. The money will go towards making repairs to buildings, paying staff, and setting up as a not-for-profit. There are also plans to make the sanctuary more sustainable by growing their own food for the animals.

If you want to support Sehati’s future, including adopting an animal, then click here!

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