Brother Wolf receives kudos for serving an all-vegan menu

No, not to its animals but rather to the folks who attend any of its shelter-sponsored events. This new animal-friendly menu garnered Brother Wolfe the Shelter of the Month award from Animal Place, one of the oldest and largest farmed animal sanctuaries in the country. Here’s the full release:

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue receives honors for vegan policy

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, a No-Kill animal organization in Asheville and
the largest in the state, has received recognition for adopting an
animal-friendly menu policy that specifies only vegan foods will be served
at shelter-sponsored events.

‘Food For Thought’ is a program of California-based Animal Place, one of the
oldest and largest farmed animal sanctuaries in the country, which awards
grants to leading shelters, SPCAs, humane societies, and other rescue
agencies that have adopted plant-based menu policies for official functions.
BWAR was named Food For Thought’s Shelter of the Month for February.

On any given day, BWAR cares for 550 animals, both at its 10,000 square-foot
adoption center at 31 Glendale Avenue and through a network of volunteer
foster families. Adoption counselors, animal care attendants, and volunteers
care for animals and work to match potential adopters with furry new family
members. Services to the community also include free spay/neuter assistance,
pet food pantry for needy families, behavioral counseling, and youth
education programs to promote a better understanding of and respect for
companion animals.

“Brother Wolf Animal Rescue has developed the shelter upon a core ethic of
Œuncompromised compassion, which naturally extends to their food policy for
sponsored events,” said Carolyn Merino Mullin, program coordinator at Animal
Place. “It’s a great honor to present them with this recognition.”

In addition to dogs and cats, local shelters frequently rescue animals like
rabbits, chickens, goats, and sheep. Any good shelter strives to find loving
homes for the animals they save, yet it is still common to find similar
animals are on the menu at events. Animal organizations like BWAR are
increasingly serving plant-based foods as a way to further act in accordance
with their mission and to respond to critical public concerns such as
environmental sustainability and human health.

Animal Planet’s ‘Cat Daddy’ Jackson Galaxy, who endorses Food For Thought,
offered advice and encouragement for other shelters to adopt a similar
policy in a recent video: foodforthoughtcampaign.org/campaign-video

“Knowing what I know now, I feel that it is really important for animal
welfare organizations to adopt a vegan policy because we should never profit
off of others’ suffering,” said BWAR founder Denise Bitz, who believes the
Asheville animal-loving community is embracing the vegan ethic.

“A dialogue has been circulating around our area with other animal rescue
groups who are considering adopting new food policies,” she said. “Luckily
for us, Asheville is a very vegan-friendly city and all of the businesses we
have worked with have been nothing but respectful and accommodating of our
wishes.”

To read an in-depth interview with Bitz visit foodforthoughtcampaign.org/news/february-2015-shelter-of-the-month

About Brother Wolf Animal Rescue

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, located in Asheville, North Carolina, was
founded in 2007 to provide the resources and life-saving programs to build a
No-Kill community. As a grassroots organization, BWAR operates an adoption
center that is open to the public 365 days a year, making it easy to adopt,
volunteer, and become involved. BWAR¹s vision is for a community that
embraces our core ethic of uncompromised compassion ­ the foundation of its
No-Kill mission and its unwavering commitment to better the lives of the
animals is the guiding force of our work. For more information about BWAR
visit bwar.org

For more information about Animal Place’s ‘Food for Thought’ campaign visit foodforthoughtcampaign.org