 Welcome to Healthy Planet, the show for people who care about their health and the health of our planet on the ThinkTech Livestreaming Network series. I'm your host, Dr. Grace O'Neill. Joining me today is Laura Lee Blanchard, founder of Lailani Farm Sanctuary. Today we're talking about the sanctuary, so let's get started. Tell us about your life before the sanctuary. I was working in the corporate world where my days were spent in high-rise office buildings. I was the senior vice president of a commercial real estate brokerage firm, and it was about as different of a lifestyle as this. And after many years of working in that industry, I became interested in cat rescue. So in the evenings after long days of business meetings, I would go and rescue cats in the evenings and ended up adopting more and more cats. Well my cat rescue work led me to the Orange County People for Animals, an animal rights organization, and it was then that I learned about factory farming and other species of animals and was introduced to a vegan lifestyle. So that was about 26 years ago. And then what finally forced or just kind of inspired you to make the transition to what you're doing today? Like how did you pick up and move? It was a bit of a gradual process. Started looking for farms in California, which is where I was living, Northern California, and wasn't able to find a farm with the right amount of acreage. And then one day we learned that the Hawaii had reduced its quarantine requirement for cats. And at the time I had 11 cats, so that was very important. It would have been a deal breaker otherwise. So decided to come out to Hawaii on a scouting mission. And I was very fortunate because this property was not even on the market. There were no properties on the market that had acreage. And this one was soon to be on the market, and we learned about it and made an offer in the rest of history all these years in the past. Wow. And when you say we, who's we? That was my former husband. Okay. He's back in California now. So did you, after, did you think you just were going to quit, essentially, or were you first planning to find a job? Well he, when I married him, he was a medical doctor, general practitioner, and he realized at the beginning of our marriage that practicing medicine didn't suit him very well. What he really loved to do was remodel houses. He liked construction and craftsmanship, woodworking. So during the years that I was in the corporate world, I was a breadwinner, but he made a significant contribution by adding value to our house with the construction skills that he had. So before moving to Maui, I took a consulting job with our animal rights movement based in Bethesda, Maryland, and worked as their national communications director. So when I arrived on Maui, I was still able to do that. I was able to work remotely just as I had when I lived in California. So that's what I did for the first few years or so. And then how did you end up acquiring the animals that you had? Was that always the intention that you were going to have a farm sanctuary? I never intended to have an official farm sanctuary. That wouldn't have been an acceptable plan to my then husband. Our plan was to just have a few of our own personal animals. So as I said, we came with the 11 cats and then we heard about a couple of very tame hens who needed a home. So we took in the two hens and he felt like an aviary for them. And then year two after that, we received a call about a couple of newborn baby goats, twin goats, and they were teeny tiny about the size of a cat, just hours old. Their bellicoats were still wet. Hunters had killed their mother, so they were orphans. So this is the first time I had ever experienced having baby goats and oh boy, I don't think there's anything cuter than a baby goat. And we had them in the house with us. Of course, they had to wear diapers and they were bouncing around. You know how goats like to jump on things? They're propelling themselves off the bed and they're busting on their diapers. So we had to put little infant pajamas on them and safety pinned their pajamas to their diapers so they wouldn't bust out of their diapers. They were so cute. That's wonderful. And then how did you when are they usually weaned from their mother's goats? Like, how did you did you get goat milk? Well, we had to feed them around the clock. Well, I shouldn't say around the clock. They slept through the night. They were sound sleepers. They slept on our pillows and make a pee ball. Yeah, they were. They were two little black goats, boy and a girl, Mary Kay and Bobby. And they're they're easy. They were so content to be in the bed on the pillows. And during the day, they'd drink their bottles. And while they were drinking, they'd look straight up and make direct eye contact. And they were so warm and soft and super tame because they were imprinted so young. So they they loved to be carried around and just absolutely adorable. Yeah, was it hard to move them out of the house eventually? I mean, now that they're so used to being in the house or do they still come inside a lot? Well, that was that was like 23 years ago. So they're unfortunately, they're no longer with us. They exceeded they they completed their lifespan. The average lifespan for goats is 13, 15 years. Oh, they've gone to goat heaven. But to answer your question, they actually loved when they graduated to the outdoors, yeah, because they could graze and run around. So they didn't mind not being in the house anymore. Yeah. And most importantly, they had each other, which makes all the difference. Yeah. Why why did you have to have them inside at first? Well, um. A couple of reasons. Number one, we didn't have a barn. We didn't have a fence paddock for them. They were our first farm animals, so we didn't. We weren't set up for them to be outside. Also, when they're that young, it's good to keep them warm. And since they need to be bottle fed all the time, it was easy to have them inside. Yeah, just kind of convenient. How about the other animals? How did you acquire some of the other animals like the animal that the farm sanctuary is named after? If you could show the picture. Eric. Leilani. Yes. Leilani was living in a pasture and one day the neighbor who was friends with Leilani, her name was Sue. Sue would go over there every evening at sunset and hang out with this donkey, bring her an apple, and they became best friends. And she'd bring her brush and she'd brush the donkey. And one evening, Sue learned that the property was going to be subdivided and developed. So Leilani was to be sold in an auction, livestock auction. And she told me about this. And my husband and I went for a bike ride. So a visitor at the pasture and it was a huge pasture. And when we pulled up, she looked like she was miles away, but we called her name and she responded. She let out a big loud bray and came running to us. That's awesome. Yes. So we made arrangements to bring her over. And that was she was the namesake for the sanctuary. And then how did things evolve after that? Well, my husband started getting tired of building fences and doing things involving animal structures. What he really wanted to do was find carpentry and work on the house. Yeah. And it just wasn't the lifestyle that he wanted. So he decided to move back to California. But it was a difficult situation because we co-owned this property. And I didn't have any savings to buy him out. This was this is like 2008 when the market crashed. And we had a lot. He was investing our savings in the stock market. And in the early years, he made a fortune, which is how we were able to get to Maui. We were one time millionaires, but it all evaporated with the crash. So by the time my former husband decided to move back to California, we were pretty much broke. And I was in a bit of a bind because here I have all these animals. And he's entitled to his 50 percent share of the equity in the property. So it was really touchy there for a while. But in the end, I found a couple who was interested in co-owning the property with me. So that was the plan. They were going to co-own it there and we built a cottage in the back of the property where I would live where the animals are. And the couple would live in the original house. Their their lawyer, though, convinced them that co-owner chef was fraught with problems and that by a sudden not to do it. So they said, if you want us to buy the property and you live here, you can have a lifetime lease. So that's what we ended up arranging. So my former husband got his equity and now I'm here for the duration of my lifetime. So they still live on the property, then, this couple. The wife, Sarah Taylor, who has been a speaker for the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii. She just a few months ago died. She had glioblastoma brain tumor. Yes, she she was very young. She was the author of the book, Vegetarian to Vegan. Yeah. And vegan, vegan in 30 days. So pretty tragic. Yeah, but her husband, Mark, is still here. He's he's also a medical doctor, ophthalmologist. Oh, really? Yeah. I mean, I'm. Makes me sad. But anyway, I was wondering, how about the other animals? I know you have a few pigs as well. Yes, we we have 16 different species of animals and they have come under all different types of circumstances. We have deer, the deer all came as orphans after their mothers were killed by hunters. The picture you just saw in the screen was our duck pond. We have many ducks, geese, swans and and turkeys, the turkeys were both saved from being put here for Thanksgiving. Oh, that's wonderful. And they have convinced so many visitors to rethink what they're going to eat for Thanksgiving because visitors come and the turkeys love to be hugged. So the visitors can squat down and hug them. And after hugging a turkey, it's kind of hard to want to consume a turkey when you when you realize what affectionate animals they are. Yeah, they're beautiful animals, too. I think turkey is beautiful. You don't realize, you know, they have beautiful feathers and it's certainly are. So how about those roosters that are growing in the background? Oh, we have lots of roosters. Many were saved from cock fighting. Hmm. In fact, I went into a cock fighting operation in the middle of the night and kidnapped a bunch of them. But for you, that must have been dangerous. So they were tethered by their legs and I brought my scissors and cut the tethers right out their legs and whisked them away. And as as you know, cock fighting is illegal in Hawaii, but it's still rampant here. Oh, it is. I think it's I think it's because the crime is classified as a misdemeanor rather than a felony. Yeah, that's too bad. It is rampant here. I had some next door neighbors actually who were actually keeping these roosters in kind of like a little cage and we suspected me. Why would you want to it was just weird? You know, it wasn't like there were animal lovers or anything. And so we knew that they were just keeping them for cock fighting. So the next time I go to visit you, I will liberate those roosters. Well, well, now what happened is my husband got very angry at them because the rooster was making noise every day and waking him up. So he went over and yelled at them. So, you know, the roosters were liberated. So excellent. Yeah. So we have like a liberated rooster now, just roaming about. Yay. That's great. Yeah. So that's what happened with that. But how about the pigs? How did you acquire the pigs? We we have we have one pig named Bernie who came to us as a wild. He was a young wild boar living in the gulch just on the other side of the property. And he decided that he wanted to be friends with the donkeys and the other pigs here. So we we were worried about him being in the gulch with hunters and dogs. So we we had him join our family. That was many years ago. And we have another pig named Charlotte, who was living on a pork. You do remember me and Charlotte? Yeah. Yeah. She was living on a pork farm where they were raising pigs for bacon, sausage, ham and all the things that it turned pigs into. And she escaped with her whole family. She was just a young piglet at the time. The whole family was living right in the brush of the Huna Highway. And Hunter spotted her family and hunters started shooting at the pigs. But they got arrested for firing guns so close to traffic. Good. They should be. I mean, that's really dangerous, too. Yes, it is. But they return the next day with snares. And unfortunately, Charlotte got caught in a snare. But before the hunters could retrieve her, a rescuer came along and saved her life. So she's here now safe for the rest of her life. And just last week, we received 16 guinea pigs. Oh, really? Six? Yes. Sixteen. So many. Well, what's happening is now that COVID is receding in schools back in session, parents are taking the kids guinea pigs to the shelter. And so there's a huge overpopulation. They're surrendering guinea pigs at record rates. So the Maui Humane Society asked if we would help. And guinea pigs are here and they're just having the greatest time. Yeah. And they get along. You remember? Do you remember them? Yeah, I remember feeding them the carrots. And they love the cats. The cats go in and hang with them. The guinea pigs have little two story houses and the cats go in and snuggle. Really sweet. So now we've got maybe 40 guinea pigs. Oh, my gosh. And they're so happy because they get to exercise. They're out of cages. They get fresh air, sunshine, organic veggies and fruits. So they're happy. So I forget what you said, you know, what you do with the eggs of the chicken because you don't want to support animal, you know, animal husbandry or whatever. Because I remember when we visited, you know, the chickens lay eggs. But I don't remember what you do with them because. Well, some people ask us if we sell them and we don't. And that's because we do not consider eggs a healthy food. They're loaded with cholesterol and, as you know, animal protein feeds cancer cells. So we don't do that. But we do have friends who rescue pigs who hard boil the eggs and feed them to pigs. And that's perfectly fine. Yes, well, that's what we do with our eggs. Even though they're cruelty free eggs, there's still not anything we're interested in eating. Yeah, no, definitely not good for you. People don't realize how much cholesterol an egg has. So yeah. So how about visitors? Tell us about, you know, visitors. How can they come to visit the sanctuary? Visitors come and attend our farm tours. We have farm tours three times a week and they get to see the whole farm. We take them around and they get to meet all the different species of animals. They get to be carrots and the tortoises. We have Africans, so called the tortoises. And they get to brush the cow and brush the donkeys. We have sheep. It's very interactive. They get to go into the aviary and hold the chickens. So the farm tours are one way for people to visit us. The other way is a lot of people on vacation come and volunteer. We have volunteer days twice a week. Nice. And so that's really fun. And after they do, the volunteers do on the volunteer days. All different projects, we often give them a choice, you know, it might be gardening, it might be brewing the animals, it might be collecting the eggs. And if we have room on the tour after the volunteering, they can join us, as I guess. Nice. That's, I mean, have people come and have you seen some people come through the sanctuary and then kind of change their mind about eating animals and consuming? Oh, yes. And it's the best news I can possibly hear from people after they visited to learn that they've decided to stop eating animals. We hear it all the time and you have to figure that for every one person who tells us, there may be 10 others who don't, who we never find out about. Yeah, that's true. I mean, I guess people, I mean, what would you like people to know about farm animals now that you have so many that people might not realize, you know, just normal everyday people who might not visit the farm sanctuary? Just how personable they are. They all have individual personalities. They have distinct voices. I can tell all my chickens apart by their voices. Like every cockadoodle, every cockadoodle do is unique. The goats all have different voices and they're really smart. If I stand in front of a herd of goats and call out the name of one specific goat, just that goat will answer. For example, if I say Nancy, just Nancy will go, ah. That's cool. Freddie won't answer and Anthony won't answer, but Nancy knows her name. They all do. So I would like people to know that farm animals are just as sensitive and capable of feeling as our pet cats and dogs. Absolutely. People don't realize that. How about the cow? I mean, how did you guys acquire the cow? Dorothy, thank you for asking. Dorothy was living on a ranch where she was being used as a milk cow. And when her milk production waned, the rancher decided that it was time for her to go to the slaughterhouse. But one of the workers on the farm, this guy, a farmhound, had developed a really loving relationship with Dorothy, and he could not bear the thought of her going to the slaughterhouse. So he offered to pay his boss whatever amount of money the slaughterhouse would get for the cow, which is about $500. And the boss said, OK, but what are you going to do with her? And the guy said, well, just have to find find another farm. So he called up all the farms on the island and nobody wanted a cow who wasn't a commodity. If she's not a milk producer and we can't slaughter her, why should we have a cow? But then he found us and we were ecstatic to finally be getting our first cow we had held out for a rescue cow. And we'd been operating as a sanctuary for so many years without a cow. And so we got Dorothy and in the end, the rancher did not dock his workers paycheck and the worker came several times and visited Dorothy, better bananas. And she was really afraid of most people because she hadn't been well socialized, but now she just soaks up the love. Visitors, brush her and. Handfeeder and she's totally mellow. That's wonderful. I mean, what a difference that makes, you know, I mean, how can people? I mean, I know you also wrote a book. So I wrote a book called Binding Paradise and it's about my. Journey from corporate America to the farm and it's full of a lot of drama and it can be. It's available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. If you go to our website, there's a tab that says book or book and our website is www.BailaniFarmSanctuary.org not calm or G. Well, thank you so much, Lorie. We're out of time, but we have to wrap it up. OK, yeah. So, you know, really loved having you on the show and I'm just going to wrap it up now. I'm Dr. Baso Nail. This is Healthy Planet on the Think Tech live streaming network series. We've been talking with Lorie Lee Blanchard from the Lailani Farm Sanctuary. Thanks to you all for being here. Thanks to Eric, our broadcast engineer and the rest of our crew at Think Tech for hosting our show. And thanks to you, our listeners for listening. I'll see you on March 31st for more of Healthy Planet on Think Tech, the show for people who care about their health and the health of our planet. Our next show will be about Hawaii Marine life with Kiyoki Stunder, Scuba Enthusiasts and Avid photographer of marine life. If you have any ideas for the show, please contact me at Healthy Planet Think Tech at gmail.com. Check out my website at gracinghawaii.com for more information on my projects, including future show guests. I'm Dr. Grace O'Neill Aloha, everyone.