Formerly located in De Winton (just south of Calgary, Alberta) RASTA’s Founder recently took on the monumental task of relocating the RASTA Sanctuary and all the animals to Vancouver Island for a better quality of life for the animals, sustainability reasons as well as to fill a need for farm animal refuge and advocacy in an area which at the time lacked this support. The RASTA Sanctuary offers a lifelong safe haven to numerous farm, as well as other domestic animals which for the most part have nowhere else to go.

Honoring education as the most valuable tool in rescue work, RASTA offers a unique one of a kind interactive experience to the public by visiting the many different types of rescued animals at the Sanctuary.  In doing so, it’s RASTA’s goal to inspire compassion for all animals with no distinction between breeds or species.

RASTA prides itself in being a no kill and cage-less Sanctuary, rather than the conventional approach of a shelter or a pound. The strict no kill policy mandates that only terminally ill or fatally injured animals will ever undergo euthanasia and the cage-less philosophy allows the animals to enjoy freedom and socialization within their own, as well as among other species.

The RASTA Sanctuary has operated primarily on a volunteer basis and is maintained for the most part by its founder Lucie, and a handful of devoted volunteers.

Now in 2021, after 20 years, RASTA Sanctuary is changing. Due to health issues, the Sanctuary’s founder, Lucie Cerny, is no longer able to continue in the capacity in which she has been operating for the past two decades. As a result, she has made the incredibly hard decision to transfer the animals from RASTA Sanctuary into the care of A Home for Hooves Farm Sanctuary, who are planning to purchase land and to build a new facility that can accomodate all the animals from both sanctuaries, and many more for years to come.

This is a huge win for animals here on Vancouver Island and throughout BC.  RASTA will continue to exist, but after a period of recovery will be adjusting and changing to continue to advocate for abused and abandoned animals and educate the public. The sale of RASTA Sanctuary assets will provide a large monetary donation to help secure operational and emergency funds for A Home for Hooves, and the donation of physical assets from RASTA, along with the combination of donors and volunteers, will create a much more sustainable model that can grow and adapt and continue to serve those in desperate need of rescue.

More details about these major changes can be found on our BLOG.