We were lucky to catch up with Shawn Camp recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Shawn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
As a farmed animal rescue is the epicenter of modern animal agriculture, Iowa Farm Sanctuary is working towards a more compassionate and just food system. As a vegan myself, I wanted to show the world, especially Iowans, just how magnificent and sentient the animals many consider “food” truly are. Allowing humans to meet and interact with farmed animals rescued from slaughter, fosters change in the way we think about these beings that we otherwise never get the chance to know.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
About 10 years ago I watched a documentary that forever changed my life. The documentary opened my eyes to the plight of dolphins who were hunted for their meat and entertainment. It was then and there I decided I would apply to be part of the team who was actively trying to save these dolphins!
After a bit of research I learned that one of the requirements of joining this team was to adhere to a vegan lifestyle/diet- I thought, if this is what that team thinks is best, I will go vegan today, so I did.
Then reality hit and I realized I had a husband, a mortgage, a job and dogs to care for here in Iowa and couldn’t simply leave for Japan for 6mo. So I suggested the next most logical thing- let’s sell the house, move to the country and rescue farmed animals! Much to my surprise, my husband, Jered, was all for it!
After much searching, we found an old farmstead with a humble 10 acres and a beautiful 100 year old farm house to start our rescue journey. Jered and I knew that in Iowa, we likely would not have the support of our community in doing this work, so we sold everything we owned- from our dvd collection to our luxury vehicles. We traded it all in to buy a rusty livestock trailer and some goat food!
About 6 months after moving to the farm and rescuing a small menagerie of farmed animals, we opened our gates for our first fundraisers- and our supporters lined up by the hundreds to see the work we’d been doing!!! We were blown away!!!! That first event propelled us into the future, we knew we had a community silently rallying behind us, and with them, anything was possible now!
After 4 years at our 10 acre farm, we knew we needed to grow- in every sense of the word. We packed up one last time, this time with nearly 100 animals in tow, and set out to our new 40acre farm. While we do not recommend moving and building in the midst of a Covid lockdown, it did all turn out ok for us, and we are still in love with our new forever home! Our new farm was a blank canvas, all that was here was a house and 40 acres of untouched land. We planned every fence post, ever spigot, every stall in the barn! Every single detail here was custom made for our rescues residents!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
If you would’ve asked me before starting IFS if I thought I was resilient, I would’ve proclaimed “hell yeah I am!” Oh how naive I was, I had no idea what resilience was back then.
My first taste of HAVING to be resilient came after making the soul crushing decision to euthanize an animal for the first time. The animals name was Phoenix and he was a beautiful Red Angus calf born with a deformed leg. By the time we rescued him, he had become septic and was unable to stand. We worked with wonderful veterinarians and surgeons for the next month to try and repair his tiny body, but ultimately he was loosing his battle. We drove to the hospital, let Phoenix lay in the grass and feel the sunshine one last time as we said the most tearful goodbyes to him.
As we drove away, it dawned on me, Farm chores awaited and I didn’t have the option of going home and crying into my pillow. We got home and got right back to work.
As the sanctuary has grown and we have rescued many more disabled animals, this resilience became a habit. Constant heartbreaks mended by putting in the work for the animals who we are able to save and provide lifelong sanctuary for.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
After nearly 5 years of working side by side with our states large animal hospital, there was a massive turnover in the hospitals staff. Where we were once seen as valuable customers, we were now seen as a nuisance-a bunch of hippies trying to save animals that should be on a dinner plate. With this turnover came a harsh change in how our animals were cared for (or not cared for) at the hospital that had grown to be our second home.
We quickly knew we had to change course for our animals best interest. It was not an easy or comfortable move, but we sought out new hospitals and new doctors and even drove cross country to work with our former vets who had moved away.
We will always do what is in the best interest of our animal residents, even if it is not the most convenient.
Contact Info:
- Website: Iowafarmsanctuary.org
- Instagram: @iowafarmsanctuary
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/iowafarmsanctuary
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/iowafarmsanctuary