Big Island Magical Creatures Sanctuary celebrates National Animal Rights Day

On Sunday, at the Magical Creatures Sanctuary that is home to about 90 rescued animals, people came from around the island to celebrate the annual National Animal Rights Day.

Helena Lundblad, founder and executive director of the 35-acre sanctuary nestled in the rolling country hills along the Hāmākua Coast in Laupāhoehoe, shared a story about one of her rescued goats named Freya.

The animal was found running loose in a neighborhood in Honoka’a with a rope tied around her horns and her nose. She could not eat.

“I don’t know if she could even drink very well, but she had this rope cut into her lips, and it was impossible to catch her,” Lundblad said.

The goat was finally caught, and four weeks later it was discovered she was pregnant.

“So even though she nearly starved to death and had a bad infection in her mouth, she managed to give birth to this perfect little baby,” Lundblad said while pointing toward the rescued goat’s offspring.

The international day of animal rights, launched in 2011 by the nonprofit Our Planet. Theirs Too, includes local memorials.

At the Magical Creatures Sanctuary, interns with the nonprofit, local residents and animal advocates sat on the picturesque lawn with an ocean view to listen to individual stories about animals that have touched their lives, or were hurt by their circumstances.

They then were handed the images of hurt or abused animals (which were provided by Our Planet. Theirs Too) and stood for a group picture before placing them one by one in a wooden memorial box surrounded by flowers and lei to honor their lives.

After the memorial, there was a free vegan meal with donations from local restaurants, including New Chiang Mai in Hilo, and acoustic music and a raffle.

The day also encourages participants to have guests sign The Declaration of Animal Rights, which includes: “All animals have the same natural right to exist, as any other living being.”

Joanna Bloese said she was inspired to start her own animal sanctuary after learning about Magical Creatures Sanctuary when looking for homes for some of her pigs.

She was renting at the time, and had a pet pig that ended up getting pregnant. She was left to try to find a safe place for the piglets and that’s when she connected with Lundblad and learned about the animal sanctuary.

Now se runs the 1-acre Selah’s Pig Sanctuary in Hawaiian Paradise Park.

“It’s a really great community,” she said.

The nonprofit Magical Creatures Sanctuary was founded in 2018 and is home to animals who were saved from slaughter, rescued from neglect, have special needs or were orphaned or injured in the wild.

The sanctuary features a home and multiple yurts for interns and staff — and plenty of pasture and shelters for all the goats, sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, ducks and cats — each with a name and each with a story.

Daisy, a white goat with black spots, is a “lava flow evacuee” from the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. Bella, whose name in Italian means “beautiful”, was one of five Holstein calves rescued from a closed dairy. In 2022, Peep the duck was found newly hatched and alone. Her family had been scared away and she was too weak to follow.

Some of the animals are blind or disabled, receiving assistance in and out of their chairs multiple times throughout the day, Lundblad said.

Megan Rose and her mother Michelle were attending from Kona that day. She said she’s been an animal lover her whole life, and rescued her now 13-year-old pitbull in the woods with a litter of puppies.

“This event made me cry,” she said.

She said one of the most touching stories she heard came from a speaker who was talking about rescuing a dog and the need to have the right bond with the right animal.

“They found each other,” Rose said. “The dog wasn’t doing well; it was struggling. It had a very stressful life. Its job was basically to be a therapy dog for inmates in prison.”

Lundblad said the sanctuary, run by volunteers, currently can not take in any more animals.

“We are at capacity, not in space, but in terms of finances,” she said. “It’s really hard to raise money for them.”

For more information about the Magical Creatures Sanctuary and how to donate, visit www.magicalcreaturessanctuary.org.