Katherine's Story

Katherine is another one of the founders here at the sanctuary. Here, she shares what inspired her to become vegan and the life-changing impact of her decision.

How long have you been vegan and what inspired you to make the change? 

I’ve been vegan since July 2017. It was a bizarre transition really, just a no-brainer as I thought I already should have been and was just waiting for my conscious mind to catch up. I’d been vegetarian on and off throughout my life but heavily influenced by what was supposedly ‘healthy’- dairy, lean meat and fish.

Then we watched What The Health. I remember it was over two days. We paused it half-way through and said ‘well we are clearly not going to able to eat any of this anymore. Shall we watch the rest tomorrow and give ourselves a day to adjust?’! I had always been against animal cruelty and wanted to advocate for them but really still somehow believed we needed animal products to survive. Seeing that film finally gave me the clarity I needed that far from being essential, a lot of animal products are actually bad for us. Then the decision was easy. 

How has it changed you and your life?

It has been completely life-changing. Physically, I have experienced lots of changes from improving my running to having more energy. I also used to have terrible menstrual cramps that could last for a couple of days and wouldn’t be knocked by painkillers. Now when I feel a twinge I take some ibuprofen once, possibly twice, and I’m done. When you think about all the hormones we must be consuming, particularly in dairy, I can’t see how that can be helpful to maintaining a good hormone balance within ourselves. 

On a psychological level it has lifted a gazillion weights from my shoulders. It is impossible to truly reconcile loving animals and then slaughtering or abusing them the way that we do in everyday practice. We convince ourselves they have to die, but the fact is they don’t. When you start putting their lives before your palate it becomes pretty straightforward. For me, I feel like I am finally living according to my values. It’s painful, too, as all the things you didn’t want to think about are suddenly in the forefront of your mind. The world looks extremely cruel but there are moments of light and I believe there is more compassion and awareness around these days. 

How do you deal with non-vegan colleagues or acquaintances? 

We are all at different stages in our lives and have different priorities and values. I guess it makes me happy when people are prepared to take a look and consciously consider their choices. Of course I would love everyone to be vegan and to minimise cruelty and animal abuse. I also know that the world is not so simple, and there have been times in my life when this was not on my radar. So many friends have told me they can't buy eggs from the supermarket after seeing our chicken rescues and things like that add up. 

Why did you decide to open the sanctuary?

We had some space! And lots of love to give so it was inevitable really! I started following Where Pigs Fly Sanctuary in Australia when Bubbles the pig was a baby, and I was completely blown away by her character. It is such a privilege to be able to offer these gorgeous souls somewhere safe and loving to live out their natural lifespan. You also get to see the positive of a sad situation. We now have a family of around 75! They are all amazing ambassadors for those who haven’t been so lucky. Each one brings so much to the sanctuary and we really hope that people out there can connect with them too.

We'd love to hear about your own vegan journeys. Let us know in the comments whether you're considering it, just getting started, or have been for years! If you'd like to support our family of rescues, head over to the sanctuary shop or our paypal to donate!