Page 24 - Harnett Life Spring 2018

Animal Ed.Ventures Summer Camps

Animal Ed.Ventures Sanctuary provides rescue and sanc- showed up in pet stores and realized the information on
tuary for exotic wildlife that pet owners and pet businesses their care was sub-par at best.”
can either no longer care for or have cast aside altogether.
This sanctuary, located in Coats, takes in and provides for About seven years ago after U.S. Department of Agriculture
a diverse array of animals with a very small staff and a and state licensing, then in Montana, Freeman transformed
tight budget. The owner, Cory Freeman, works 24/7 - 365 her 300-acre property into a home for animals abandoned
days of the year trying to provide for each animal, educate by their owners. With the exception of a few structures, she
the public and create a peaceful environment for humans built most of the outbuildings with her own two hands —
to decompress and reconnect to each other and the Natural and a few extra pairs belonging to close friends.
World.
Now in Coats, NC, She has plans to expand by creating a
Cory has once even had to ride 60 feet high in a man lift Peace-Park – a place for humans to leave cyber-space be-
to retrieve two baby goats trapped on top of the pillar of a hind and get grounded – a “spirit gym” of sorts. The sanctu-
bridge! ary is always working on upgrades to house the increasing
number of rescued, donated and rehabilitated animals. The
…But that’s just another day for Freeman, owner of Ani- new projects often run anywhere from a few thousand to
mal Ed.ventures Sanctuary in Coats, a sanctuary that is a $15,000 or more.
dream realized.
As much as she loves the animals,” It’s also about human-
“I’ve been working with exotic species forever, but more ity – raising awareness of our impact and the true need for
intensively in the past 20 years,” Freeman said. “I was us to get back to kindness, mindfulness, and teamwork to
just a hobbyist, and I had bought some rare animals that save ourselves and, in doing so, our very earth” .