When we heard that Kindred Spirits Care Farm was opening a new sanctuary located in cougar habitat, we set a plan in motion to protect its animal residents and prevent potential conflicts with native predators. If you’ve ever wondered how sanctuary animals coexist with cougars, now’s your chance to find out.

Kindred Spirits Care Farm celebrated the grand opening of its new sanctuary this June and is now home to rescued pigs, sheep, goats, and dozens of other animals. The Chatsworth Hills where the sanctuary is located are naturally home to cougars but the sanctuary is not currently equipped to safeguard the sanctuary animals.

Right now, native predators and rescued animals are vulnerable. We are committed to making a win-win solution… one that will protect animal sanctuary residents and local cougars!

To prevent cougar-sanctuary conflicts, we introduced Cougar Conservancy Founder and Director Korinna Domingo to Kindred Spirits Care Farm Founder and Director Karen Snook. The Cougar Conservancy reduces human-wildlife conflict and conserves cougar populations through science-based management and conservation.

We asked the specialists at the Cougar Conservancy to conduct a “pre-conflict” visit and assessment to provide expert advice on the best available conflict prevention measures and the efficacy of such tools, based on the Kindred Spirits Care Farm property and specific geographic area.

Watch this video to discover our creative solution:

Rescued alpacas, goats, pigs, and sheep need 5 mini-barns to stay safe, costing only $16,375 for the entire project.

The solution is simple: urgently build 5 mini-barns to house Kindred Spirits Care Farm animals at night, when native predators are most active. Lumber, roofs, doors, concrete standings, and a skilled helper to build the barns will cost $16,375.

It’s a small price compared to the environmental and social costs of losing LA cougars.

Did you know? Over the past 20 years, almost 100 cougars on average were legally killed per year on depredation permits across California.

With the building of these barns, Kindred Spirits Care Farm will set an example for communities housing domestic animals in cougar habitat showing that deadly depredation permits are not the solution!

Cougars in the Santa Monica Mountains are already threatened with extinction. 

As humans moved into cougar habitat in the area, local cougars have become separated from potential mates living in the nearby forests by Highway 101. It has reduced genetic diversity so much that cougars may go extinct in LA in the coming decades.

This 10-lane highway is a death sentence for cougars and for all animals who dare cross it.

Fortunately, a solution is in sight — the world’s largest highway overpass wildlife crossing! 

In Defense of Animals is supporting the Save LA Cougars campaign to build the crossing and save these amazing animals. But that’s not the end of the story...

Cougars will continue to face deadly threats if local communities don’t know how to coexist. 

North of the future site of the wildlife crossing at Liberty Canyon is Kindred Spirits Care Farm, an amazing animal sanctuary with the potential to serve as a beacon for peaceful coexistence with cougars.

Give Today to Build the Barns & Save LA Cougars!

Now it’s our turn to prevent a tragedy: we have a chance to defend LA cougars and rescued animals! Together we can save these animals’ lives and model positive interactions with cougars at Kindred Spirits Care Farm so others will not resort to deadly depredation permits. 

The animals are vulnerable. Each day that passes is filled with risk. Please give what you can right now to build the lifesaving mini-barns: www.idausa.org/buildthebarns