Cayce Mell and Jason Tracy run OohMahNee Farm Sanctuary in
Hunker, Westmoreland County, where they live with son Aedan, 2, and more than
700 rescued farm animals. On 100 acres of rolling countryside, Cayce, Jason and
dedicated volunteer farmhands care for abandoned, neglected or mistreated farm
animals. Cayce recently talked to NewPeople writer Rebecca Reid about the farm
and its mission. The following is part of their conversation.
When was OohMahNee it created and why?
OohMahNee is a farmed animal sanctuary about 30 miles from
Pittsburgh. It is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitative care of abused,
abandoned, or displaced farmed animals and to promoting compassion through
public education. It was created in 1996 when we realized the overwhelming
demand for farmed animal rescue.
Although initially founded with the intention of remaining a
small privately funded safe haven for rescued farmed animals, it soon evolved to
sanctuary status and incorporated as a non-profit organization. Today OohMahNee
is recognized nationwide and has been featured by many different media outlets,
including two episodes of Animal Planet.
Where does the name OohMahNee come from?
The name is simply a play on the word humane,or so we
thought. At one of our earliest public speaking engagements we were approached
by a woman who informed us that the name OohMahNee has a connection to a
Buddhist chant for compassion.
And what about the OohMahNee residents?
There are currently 764 animals at OohMahNee. The majority of
the population is comprised of over 500 chickens who were rescued from a huge
factory egg farm in Ohio in September of 2000 when a tornado struck several
warehouses, trapping, injuring and killing literally millions of birds. The
other animal residents include turkeys, rabbits, cows, sheep, goats, pot-bellied
pigs, and "big pigs."
Does a place like OohMahNee have a role to play within the
movement for peace and social justice?
Some people would say animal rights is a secondary issue
given current concerns about civil rights, militarization, globalization,
environmental degradation. OohMahNee advocates compassionate lifestyle choices.
Aside from animal rescue work, the farm serves to educate the
public to expanding their awareness of the effects human lives have upon other
sentient beings, and to extend human compassion and empathy to all other species
and the planet as well.
We’ve reached a time in history when it’s critical that human
beings learn to coexist peacefully with one another, and all other living
beings. In a world desensitized by violence and indifference to suffering,
OohMahNee joins the growing movement of advocates for a peaceful world.
Consider the severe environmental impact of intensive
farming, or the dehumanization of poorly treated workers in the meatpacking
industry. These are issues where our fields of activism overlap. We recognize
the connection between all advocacy movements, and the common denominator is the
pursuit of peace and justice. It’s impossible to attain that goal unless we
collectively strive to abolish all forms of enslavement and eliminate all forms
of suffering.
One of OohMahNee’s T-shirts reads "Gratitude for one’s
freedom is most greatly expressed by freeing all those who remain still
oppressed."
In the eyes of the law, farm animals still have the virtually
unprotected status of "tools of production," enabling cruelty to prevail on
factory farms. Do you ever feel discouraged? How do you see things evolving in
the future?
OohMahNee is greatly influenced by the principles of Gandhi
who demonstrated that peace can truly be attained only through non-violence and
passive resistance. The principle of Ahimsa — non-violence toward all living
beings — is encompassed by the vegan diet. As difficult as it is to maintain the
hope that we will one day see all forms of slavery abolished, we have to hope
that through education and by example society will evolve and someday all living
beings will truly know freedom.
For details and directions: 724-755-2420,
www.oohmahneefarm.org.
