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On June 2, 2024, I had the opportunity to speak my heart’s truth at the National Animal Rights Day event in New York City. This event, organized in NYC by Jamie Logan and worldwide by Our Planet, Theirs Too, Animal Save, Anonymous for the Voiceless and We the Free, is a growing, revolutionary movement to bring the truth to the public - through our collective grief and hope. With speeches, poems, songs, performances, marches and direct action, this day is an incredible demonstration of our purpose to end animal exploitation. I was honored to be a speaker at this event where I could pour out my heart and be heard by the people who truly get it and are on the vanguard of ethical progress for our culture.
Doing this work can be soul crushing. I am driven by an intense passion but it takes a toll. Having this space to air my grief and desire for animal liberation and really be heard was invaluable. I felt buoyed by our collective work and intention and held by the united compassion of our hearts. This is truly a special and historic day and I encourage you to get involved and participate next June. We are building a critical mass of resistance to our system of speciesist tyranny.
It was very powerful being there as a former cattle rancher who experienced a vegan spiritual awakening. Our story brings hope and possibility and it is our members who allow us to keep spreading this message far and wide, ensuring that the monthly costs of caring for our many animals are covered. We need to see this system end, y’all. I need it. I long for the day that I will be able to see with my own eyes, the liberation of all animals.
Our friend Chee Wei Tay put together this beautiful video about Rowdy Girl Sanctuary.
A beautiful depiction of real time, sanctuary life at Rowdy Girl Sanctuary.
Renee participates in a panel discussion at the Himalayan Vegan Festival.
The 5th Annual Humane Hoax Online Conference was held on Saturday, February 24, 2024. Attendees heard presentations from experts and activists on informative and interesting aspects of humanewashing and greenwashing.
Renee gave a presentation on “There’s No Right Way to do the Wrong Thing”.
Presentation by Renee King-Sonnen at the Whole Foods Plant Based Potluck for First Methodist Church in Seguin, Texas on Thursday, August 24, 2023.
VOLUNTEER EFFORTS | Rowdy Girl Sanctuary, the day to day on a rescue farm. Duck, goats & more
We feel lucky to have been able to volunteer at this amazing place for 4 days. We helped build a goat shed, dug a trench, cleaned out metal scraps, cleaned the duck pond and so much more. We knew we loved farm animals, but this place helped solidify our plans for the future... Farm Sanctuary here we come!!! I won’t lie, goats were not my favorite but after meeting Sugar, I cannot wait to save some…they have so much personality! Rowdy Girl is a unique and special place. Prior to the sanctuary they used to be cattle ranchers and after many tears, decided to go vegan, saved their entire heard and have never looked back! They have since been a haven to goats, chickens, pigs of all shapes and sizes, cows, horses and more. Renee and Tommy, the founders, are incredibly compassionate and passionate about their cause. You can’t help but fall in love with the farm. If you would like to show your support, you can become a member for $5 a month, which helps them feed and care for the 50 plus animals they have living on the farm. You can also make a one-time donation or simply subscribe to their YouTube channel, watch, like and comment on their videos. Every little bit helps in the rescue world so don’t discard what one like and one view can do!
Renee spoke at the AVA Summit in Los Angeles July 27-30, 2023. The AVA Summit is an overarching conference series for the animal and vegan advocacy movement, bringing advocates together from around the world who are focusing on systemic change and working on various tactics, strategies, and approaches toward one shared vision: removing animals from our food system and other human use.
Saturday, April 22, 2023 in Austin, Texas
We had an incredible talk with the inspiring Renee King-Sonnen of Rowdy Girl Sanctuary in our AJA Lunchtime Live: From Cattle Rancher to Animal Activist. In 2015, after feeling like she could no longer be a part of the cruelty of the animal agriculture industry, Renee King-Sonnen and her husband converted their Texas beef cattle ranch into an animal sanctuary. At the end of the month a documentary about Renee and Rowdy Girl Sanctuary will premiere at North America's premiere documentary festival, Hot Docs International Film Festival in Toronto. In this AJA Lunchtime Live, we find out what the turning point was for Renee deciding to make herself and the ranch vegan, the viral sensation that resulted, and her hopes for the "Rowdy Girl" documentary. We also dig into the mindsets of animal ag farmers, the possibilities for the AR movement to collaborate with farmers, and the top things about animal farmers and the industry that Renee thinks animal advocates should be informed around.