Hi, and welcome to the Animal Welfare Junction. This is your host, Dr. G, and our music is written and produced by Mike Sullivan. Today, we have a repeat guest. We have Vicki Deisner with Ohio Animal Advocates. Welcome back, Vicki. Oh, thank you for having me again. Appreciate the time. So I'm really excited about this, uh, this talk because we're going to talk about the Real Ohio Tours. And I'm sure that there's a lot of our listeners that have no idea what this means. So can you explain what the. Real Ohio tours are?

Absolutely. Um, it's an opportunity for folks to get out and see on the ground animal sanctuaries, the people that own them, the people that take care of the animals, and what really happens in Ohio to help either farm animals, wildlife, or companion animals in these situations. It's a wonderful time. To be out and meet other people with like interests, and actually we started this during the pandemic because there were limited opportunities for people to get out and interact with people safely. And this was a way that we could, you know, make that happen, and we've continued to do it because the interest of the people who come in the various types of animals, their stories, you know the history of the sanctuary is how they got into it, and, you know, actually connecting it to policy efforts we are working on.

So what was the, what was the original purpose or drive behind it? Like, what is, what is Ohio Animal Advocates hoping to achieve by, by doing these tours?

Well, what we find is it's very important for people to have ways to engage with an organization that they find that their mission to be, uh, passionate for them. And yet, you know, if you were a regular animal welfare organization where people could interact. directly with the animals because they're in a shelter, they're in a rescue, you know, that would be one thing, but we work on policy. We work at statewide changes, um, to reduce cruelty throughout the state for, you know, all of Ohio's animals, but it doesn't give people that opportunity to connect. But yet, if we, uh, Go ahead. And we prepare these trips to allow them to see the types of animals that do come in that are removed from cruelty that are given another life. They're rehomed. They're interactive with other animals. They have gained quality back of their life. And indeed, you know, it makes a lot of people happy to see that. They enjoy the opportunity to connect with like minded people, you know, people who belong to the Ohio animal advocates or choose to join. And you know, it's really an opportunity to interact them and talk about policy issues we're working on in relation to those animals that people see.

One of the things that I think that is really cool is that the different sanctuaries offer different experiences, right? So it's it has a lot of different animals and a lot of different ways in which these sanctuary work. So, uh, do you want to give us a rundown of the places that we will be visiting this year? Absolutely.

Um, June 1st, we will kick off and launch of the 2024 Real Ohio Tours by going down to Glen Helen Raptor Center in Yellow Springs. And this particular sanctuary has been around for a while. actually process over 200 animals, raptors that come in per year that have been hurt, um, you know, need to go ahead and be, um, either rehomed, you know, fixed, um, taken care of. But, you know, um, hopefully a lot of them are released back into the wild because they actually are mended. But for the ones that don't, they stay there as ambassadors, um, that are taken care of so very well by the staff that is there. But actually, then there's stories to tell for people to come in. It's humane education as to what has happened to these birds, what we need to do in the wild to protect them and you know what their lives. really should look like, you know, not exactly behind bars. One thing people will absolutely love is the first, you know, raptor we will meet is this wonderful crow, Macy, who actually, she starts talking to you when you hear her, when she hears you come up the path, and she has so much to tell you and so many tricks to show you, and when you start to leave her cage to go, it's the same thing. She's very upset and wants you to come back, but they are very interactive animals. Um, we also, you know, hope to share at that time with folks that actually, you know, there's been a federal bill that has passed in 2024 was signed by the president. On April 17th. And actually what it does, it's part of the migratory birds of the American Conservation Enhancement Act. I know that's a mouthful, but at any rate, what it will actually do once it's enacted is the migratory birds of the American Conservation Enhancement Act will actually increase the federal cost share. of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act program from 25 percent to 33 percent and also change it from a one to three public, um, cost share to one to two. What this really means on the ground, um, and I'll make it simpler, is it's going to generate a wide variety of projects, um, reduce barriers to conservation action and actually give us the opportunity to really address issues with migratory birds. And, um, this was a bipartisan bill and we're so glad to see that it passed the federal government and we'd like to talk to people about it.

That's amazing. That's really great. So then after, after the Yellow Springs, what do we have next?

What we have next is one of our favorites, actually the first one we ever went to, and it's Walking Wild Fox Rescue and Wolf Dog Sanctuary. It is in Newark, Ohio, just east of Denison, and it actually, we have the largest fox sanctuary in the United States. In the United States, we have one over 100 foxes in there, and the couple that runs it, Molly and David Schultz, Molly is a former marketer, and she knows how to get out in public and negotiate and work with people. So what she's done is reached out to the Fox farms around the Midwest and we do have a lot unfortunately, but actually the animals that they wouldn't even utilize because they were not happy with their coats instead of those animals being killed. Unfortunately, the way that that's done is anal electric electrocution is basically these animals will be removed by rehomed at walking wild and actually have a chance to live a normal life. And also what the sanctuary does is bring attention to the fact that there still is, you know, for farming going on, you know, a lot of people in the United States would be surprised by that, because they don't see people were first. But these are shipped, you know, to other countries. And there is more going on that you would think and we want to bring attention to it. In fact, at one point, Molly and David hosted with Columbus fashion week. Um, a, it was a, you know, time on the runway with the foxes where models were in beautiful outfits carrying the foxes. It was a little difficult for them in their heels, but it was very exciting to see. And, you know, really, um, there's many opportunities to educate people. And one thing we are working on that we want to, on that particular event is bring some of Columbus city council is because we are working with, um, the council to actually see about a fur ban. In this area, and it would be for new first, this wouldn't affect people who have old first from before from thrift stores or whatever. But, you know, really looking at, can we actually close down the need to sell new first and there's actually only four stores in the Columbus area. So, we're working on that and trying to educate folks along the way.

That would be great because I mean realistically with everything that we have available there is absolutely no need to kill animals just for their, just for their fur. I mean and even people that like the look, there are fake materials that look just the same. So you can still look fancy without being cruel to animals, right?

Absolutely. And what you will see at Walking Wild is a lot of the foxes are home together in families as they've learned to get along with different ones. And you see, you know, actually in many ways they will resemble our domestic dogs and how they interact with the staff there and the volunteers at Walking Wild. And they have their own personalities and they're just as cute as a button.

That's amazing. Looking forward to that one as well. So after the foxes, what do we have?

Then the next one is Sunrise Farm Sanctuary and that will be in September 21st. That's always a good time to wait actually until a lot of the rains in Columbus are over in central Ohio because otherwise it can be pretty muddy out there. But, um, it is actually the largest farm sanctuary we have in Ohio. Uh, they have over, um, 150 animals and of every type from horse, Horses to cows, to donkeys, to sheep, to pigs, to chickens, to roosters, to mules, um, to geese, to, um, cats and dogs. And they all live together much better than we do in society. Um, though they have their personalities. And last year when we went, it was very interesting to see when we first walked in and were introduced to two pigs at the gate, we were informed that these are two new. relationships because one of the pigs had been with another pig for a long time and they had a falling out. And as they explained, there were kind of two sides to the farm where the various animals went to be in their families, their social groups. And as we met the various families, it turned out that one of the families, um, was led by one eyed horse. Who had a very dominant personality and she rolled the roost over the other horses and the sheep and some of the donkeys and some of the pigs, and you know, it was kind of split. But what we found out is. the cows were afraid of her. And so in the other group on the other side of the farm, there were the cows and other pigs, you know, the pigs that had split and hadn't made up yet. And, you know, various donkeys and sheep and just everybody was in their social groups. So, you know, even animals do that. So when we go back this year, I'll be interested to see if the pigs But one thing that's very important is they really do a lot of on the ground, a humane education, um, with schools, you know, in the area and, uh, really do a lot of rescue. And indeed, um, they need to expand and they need to improve some of the, um, you know, facilities that they have. And there was a very fair and, uh, giving donor that offered them last fall. 100, 000 match if they could raise it in six months. And literally it was just a month ago that that six months was over. I know I put in money on that last day to see them get over that top and they did. They raised $104, 000. So, um, it'll be great to see and hear where some of that money is going to go and what more opportunities there can be for farm animals, um, at Sunrise Farm Sanctuary.

Yeah, I think that there's a lot of education that people need as far as the needs of farm animals and how I'm going to say how they affect the environment and how we need them, but how a lot of their use is actually damaging our ecosystem. So, I mean, it's very, very, very important trip. I

did want to add one more thing about that to inform the audience. Um, one thing that's important to think about is, You know, we want to share this at that trip is that Ohio has livestock care standards. And a lot of people didn't even know that or know what that's about. But 10 years ago or 10 plus years ago in California, they did a ballot initiative that was prop 12. And I know when I heard about it, I thought it was absolutely amazing. And I knew it would be a game changer, because what it was going to do is actually get rid of gestation crates for pigs, battery cages for chickens, and veal crates. And, um, it would apply to both in state and out of state producers. And since California at the time was number five in the world for gross domestic product, this would have a big impact on wider than California. And then right afterwards, both Michigan and Ohio passed livestock care standards. And, um, indeed a lot of other states kind of stopped at that point. And there's been pushback by Midwestern attorney generals on this. Now, mind you, um, the California ballot initiative was going to give 10 years for the state to phase it in, which seems ample time, but you know, there was a fight all the way up to the end, including at the support. US Supreme Court last spring, which, um, actually, you know, was debatable. How would that go? Um, the case was brought by the, uh, pork industry in Iowa, and actually the Supreme Court went in favor of keeping the ballot issue initiative. Based on the Commerce Clause. And so it's going into effect in California now is the fourth largest economy in the world. So this will have, um, you might say repercussions down the line. Um, we are close to an Ohio actually working on phasing in the livestock care standards. And indeed, at the last minute last summer, there was a pork producer that wrote to ODA, Ohio Department of Ag, Saying they felt it was unfair. You know, they weren't ready. They weren't going to be able to do this. And we were so glad to hear that the pork Ohio pork council wrote a letter saying we committed to doing this 10 years ago, and there's no reason there's been 10 years for this to phase in. We stand strong with what our commitment was to ODA to be a partner in this. And we want to see this happen. And so I think that's a real breakthrough. And then one. Even in my mind, bigger breakthrough is just recently the new organic standards came out from USDA and what they did in my mind is, you know, the culture is changing and they decided to pick it up at what they said is any, um, well, these were the requirements for the producers. No gestation crates. No battery cages, no forced molting of chickens, no face branding on any animals and, you know, a number of other things too. So in my mind, it seemed what happened is the changes are happening because what happened in California has now become the standard for organic farming. You know, producers, and I think we're, we're getting somewhere on this. And when I say this, we need to move away from the factory farms that are actually, you know, causing 80 percent of the antibiotics in this country to be used on farm animals. And why are we as humans seeing a resistance? That's why we need to go back to traditional farming that is humane for animals. And, um, you know, certainly When you go to sunrise, you see what that can mean. But, um, you know, it's good to see that there are changes happening in that respect.

That is really, that is really amazing because yeah, you would expect like, you know, like the pushback. I expect that. It's really nice for the, for the big group to say, no, this is what we, that's what we committed to. And this is what we're going to do. So that's, that's really great.

Yes, some progress. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And then the very last, um, tour of this year that we have planned is to, uh, fox tail sanctuary. And actually, uh, we don't have a definitive date, but we're looking at October 12th. We still have time. And this is actually another fox sanctuary in Medina, a smaller one, um, kind of see, you know, we'd have a chance to see more like what happens when a fox, um, Fox Sanctuary gets started. You know, how do you build up to be what walking wild is? So it gives people an opportunity to, you know, make that comparison. And again, we need to tell that story about the need to ban furs. And, you know, Columbus is a great place to start, but, you know, that's not the end of the road.

These are all amazing places that, you know, have been selected. So if there are any other sanctuaries in Ohio that would like to be part of the Real Ohio Tours, how can they be considered for like the 2025 Real Ohio Tours?

Oh, all they need to do is get hold of Ohio Animal Advocates. We're glad to take in a new player, so to say, in the game. In fact, one thing we'd like to do, too, is talk to other sanctuaries because what we've also done Is create a network of sanctuaries now that are talking to each other and sharing, you know, how they, you know, how they created their model, how they've gotten to a certain point, um, you know, and what they can do to help each other grow. And so that's very important. So they just need to contact me at Ohio Animal Advocates. Um, my email is Vicki, vicki.deisner, D E I S N E R at gmail. com.

And for anybody of our listeners that are interested in finding more information, not just about the real tours, but about the different advocacy efforts that Ohio Animal Advocates does, how can they get information? Like, what are their, their resources?

I hope folks will go to, um, ohioanimaladvocates.org. You will find a very, um, full, robust website that has a lot of information. We have a number of key program areas we work in. We work on puppy mills, community cats, breed discrimination, um, anti tethering and the issue of animals being left outdoors. Ah, wildlife, um, pet assistance. And what that really means is, you know, Addressing the issue of low income and the homeless in regard to not only their situation in dealing with eviction bans, the high rent that's going on, you know, whether it's, you know, central Ohio or throughout Ohio. And what happens when they have a pet, you know, is there co sheltering and homeless shelters. Is there opportunities to declare animals, um, animals, you know, that are, you know, emotional support so they actually can get over issues of rental discrimination? You know, how do we deal with these issues and what opportunities there are? And then also we have pet protection because there's an issue in domestic violence situations, uh, where unfortunately animals are considered part of the family, but they become. The first sentinel warning that family escalation, um, the violence is increasing because indeed, unfortunately, animals being voiceless will be the first often to be controlled and be hurt. And so it's actually a time of collaboration for people, different, you know, humane and human agencies to work together to intervene early. In fact, in 2021, we got passed Um, the nation's strongest, most comprehensive cross reporting bill that requires veterinarians, social workers, caseworkers, therapists, and counselors to report animal abuse. And then on the other side of the coin, law enforcement, humane agents, dog wardens, animal control officers to report child and elder abuse. And indeed, um, you know, I'm still training on this six years later, because there's new people coming into place, there's new opportunities to educate people on this. In fact, um, come this September, there's going to be an international conference where this will be discussed in Cleveland, as one of the topics. It's the International Association of Veterinarian Social Workers. And I think, Dr. G, both you and I are planning on going, so, and, and probably speaking. So, you know, it's an opportunity to keep spreading the word. In fact, I had an opportunity last summer to go to Lisbon, where actually countries in the European Union were asking for folks to come over to explain what we're doing in America to address the link. And indeed, they looked at Ohio as actually the model for the type of law they would want passed. very much. So we got a gold star.

Yes, that is amazing. We need more gold stars because we have like a not a gold star on the puppy mill issue. So we need, uh, we, you know, at least we have this. So hopefully more, more to come.

I hope we can address that topic in another podcast.

Oh, absolutely. I mean, you know, I, I hate puppy mills, so I definitely love to talk puppy mill. And for anybody that's listening to, if you are on Facebook, if you're on Instagram, if you're on threads, like Ohio Animal Advocates has a voice on all of those social media, so you can check it out and get information on what's happening.

Oh, and one last program area that I got off sited by is Humane Education, because one thing we have learned is on a number of levels, it's very important to start children, and when they're most absorbent, you might say, in their development stage between third grade and sixth grade to really grab hold of compassion, which can extend later in life to their family to their friends to their communities. Indeed, if you can teach them humane education. It's a place a lot of times where kids connect, and it can make a difference in a child's life, and as they grow up. And so we have a number of programs we talked about as far as Red Rover readers and other educational materials that can be used. We also talked about. You know, actually looking at what we can do to get rid of animal testing in schools and universities and, and, you know, add on the research. So, um, we're actually looking also at a bill in Ohio, as far as a banning cosmetics testing. So, you know, please also look at that particular program. That's actually where Real Ohio Tour sits at. And one of the tours we did two years ago was so wonderful. It was a sanctuary in Gahanna that is not there anymore because they got bigger and moved to Pennsylvania where there was more land, but they had the children come out and read to the pigs because the pigs loved it. So, you know, it's wonderful to see that sort of, you know, opportunity to expand, you know, compassion in the community.

That is amazing. So ohioanimaladvocates. org, please visit and join and check it out because there's a lot of great information and a lot of great ways that everybody can help be an advocate for animals. So thank you so very much, Vicki, for being here. Again, we will talk soon about puppy mills and other, and other issues that are happening in Ohio, but I really appreciate you taking the time to be here today.

Appreciate you having me.

Excellent. And for all our listeners, thank you for taking the time. Thank you for listening and thank you for caring.