The remarkable Danielle Hanosh joins us on the podcast for a conversation about a revolutionary new program that you will definitely want to hear about. LEAP—short for Leaders for Ethics, Animals, and the Planet—offers high school students humane education, hands-on experience caring for rescued farmed animals, volunteer experience at animal sanctuaries, and scholarship opportunities. Teaching compassion instead of slaughter, LEAP, teaches students to be thoughtful and deliberate about their choices and encourages them to question the current societal constructs around using animals for food. She also tells us about her life at Blackberry Creek Sanctuary, the animal rescue she co-founded, and how a pig named Sebastian inspired LEAP.
*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Jasmin’s interview with Danielle Hanosh.*
Danielle is the Executive Director of Blackberry Creek Farm Animal Sanctuary in Colfax, CA, which she founded with her husband, Joshua Hanosh, in 2014. She leads Blackberry Creek’s rescue, education and advocacy programs, event planning, fundraising, and community partnerships. Her work includes public education and advocacy for practical solutions to the complex problems arising from animal agriculture, human-caused climate change, overpopulation, animal abuse and neglect, and the current system’s impact on mental and physical human health. Her current projects include advocating for more aggressive, inventive veterinary care for traditionally farmed animals who end up in sanctuaries, building the LEAP pilot program, and conducting research for a future non-fiction book focused on anti-speciesism.
“We try to show students there’s another way besides the traditional system of animal agriculture.” – Danielle Hanosh
Highlights for Episode 642:
- LEAP’s goals, vision, and how the program offers a different perspective on working with farmed animals
- Who can participate in the program and why Danielle is happy to take both students who are already vegan and active in animal rights alongside students who are part of their local FFA or 4-H programs where they raise animals for animal agriculture
- How LEAP compares to the 4-H program
- FFA student Audori and Sebastian the pig’s story
- How Blackberry Creek Sanctuary supported Audori to get Sebastian to safety and subsequently made a short documentary film about the experience called Audori’s Courage
- The educational foundation that Danielle has put together for LEAP
- Danielle’s hopes for the program to develop into a community-based program and some of the ideas that have been put forward, including starting community gardens
- Why Danielle has designed the program to cover several personal development outcomes for the students and the skills she believes will help them as they develop into adults
- Danielle’s background in education and why she decided to start Blackberry Creek Sanctuary with her husband eight years ago
- How climate change has affected the operations at Blackberry Creek Sanctuary due to their rural location
- Danielle’s book The Very Ugly Chicken and the original Judy who faces physical disabilities with courage and compassion
Resources:
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This episode is brought to you in part through the generosity of A Well-Fed World. A Well-Fed World provides the means for change by empowering individuals, social justice organizations, and political decision makers to embrace the benefits of plant-based foods and farming. Learn more at awfw.org.
Our Hen House: Vegan & Animal Rights Movement | Stories from the Frontlines of Animal Liberation