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Beyond the barn: exploring PTSD in rescued farm animals
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Beyond the barn: exploring PTSD in rescued farm animals
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BEYOND THE BARN
EXPLORING PTSD IN RESCUED FARM ANIMALS
by
Anusha Shankar
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION AND
JOURNALISM
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
May 2024
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
ii
Acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible without the foundation laid by numerous researchers
in animal emotional well-being, dedicated veterinarians involved in animal rehabilitation, and
tireless advocates for animal rescue and welfare. Their collective efforts provided the crucial
background knowledge that informs this documentary.
I am also deeply grateful to Dan Birman, for his guidance through the production of the film
and my thesis committee, Gabriel Kahn, Afua Hirsch, and Allan Lopez, for their unwavering
support throughout this journey.
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements………………………………….…………………………………….……ii
Table of contents...………………..……………...….…………………………………………iii
Abstract…………………………………….………………………...….……….…………….iv
Chapter One:
Reflection….…………………………….…………………………………….………………..1
Chapter Two:
Documentary Script…….…………………….…………….…………….…………………….5
Bibliography..…..….…………………………….……………………………….………...…..15
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
iv
Abstract
This documentary short explores the emotional well-being of rescued farm animals and the impact of
trauma on their well-being. It delves into the question of whether farm animals, subjected to practices
like separation from mothers, crowding, confinement, and neglect, experience symptoms similar to post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in humans.
The project leverages interviews with an animal rescuer (Kindred Spirits Care Farm), a veterinarian (Dr
Katie Nenneker), and a researcher (Dr Debra Merskin) to shed light on the definition of animal abuse, its
psychological consequences, and the potential for rehabilitation.
Traumatic experiences can trigger PTSD-like symptoms in animals, such as immobility, isolation, human
avoidance, shivering, weight loss, and depression, say researchers at Farm Sanctuary, an organization that
works with rescued and rehomed animals. The documentary utilizes visual storytelling through footage of
rescued and rehabilitated animals at Kindred Spirits Care Farm. By observing their interactions with each
other, their caregivers, and other humans, the film participants provide evidence of their sentience and
the emotional impact of their past experiences.
A key finding of the project is the link between emotional abuse and PTSD-like symptoms in farm
animals. It further explores the potential for rehabilitation and gaining trust through proper care that
prioritizes both physical and emotional needs.
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
1
Reflection
Your project concept:
Farm animals like pigs, cows, goats and others that hold immense commercial value are often subjected
to practices like separation of newborns from mothers, crowding in tiny and dark spaces, neglect and
physical disciplining methods.
Lauri Togerson, a researcher at Farm Sanctuary says animals exposed to such experiences that can trigger
defense behaviors as a response can lead to PTSD-like symptoms.
PTSD in humans is a mental health condition that can develop after a person experiences or witnesses a
traumatic event. This event can be anything that causes feelings of intense fear, helplessness, or horror.
Feelings and memories associated with the events can turn into triggers that can lead to behaviors like
withdrawal, avoidance, irritability, anger and in most cases depression and anxiety.
The life of an average agricultural pig or cow entails many traumatic events that could trigger PTSD
symptoms. These events can turn into defensive behaviors like human avoidance, aggression and isolation.
Some of these behaviors are closer to symptoms exhibited by humans.
For years, studies have tried to quantify PTSD in non-human animals like monkeys, rats, and elephants.
Farm Sanctuary’s efforts to explore emotional well-being in rescued farm animals through ethical means
was the inspiration for my film. This project takes a step into investigating whether rescued farm animals
experience PTSD like symptoms by talking to those that study and work with animals.
I chose to pursue this topic through visual storytelling as animals as non-verbal and choose to express
themselves visually, through body movements, expressions and behaviors. The topic itself was an interest
area to me but the scope to film rescued animals that have found their way back to trusting humans was
also an inviting experience for me.
In my documentary project, I chose to work with animal rescuers, veterinarians and researchers in order
to understand what qualifies as animal abuse, the implications of such practices and the journey to
emotional wellness in farm animals like cows, sheep and goats.
a. Kindred Spirits Care Farm is a non-profit organization near Los Angeles that houses rescued
farm animals and helps them in their recovery. The founder, Snook, plays an important role in
my documentary, sharing her experience in animal rescue, along with her impressions centering
on the emotional behaviors in animals and rehabilitation to correct trauma responses.
b. Dr. Katie Nennker (Nenn), a veterinarian often works with rescue organizations around
Southern California providing emergency and non-emergency assistance. She runs a mobile clinic
service, where she often comes across animals that have been seized from accommodations
and rehomed. Through her expertise in working with animals that have experienced potential
trauma-inducing situations, she defines abuse, discusses the rescue animals she works with, the
emotional changes in these animals and how trauma-informed treatment helps rehabilitate
abused animals.
c. Dr. Debra Merskin, a retired professor from University of Oregon, has researched animals,
sentience and media representation, shares findings that point to obvious hints of PTSD in
abused animals. She is also the founder of animalsandmedia.org and works with animal rescue
groups in Oregon.
What you found along the way:
Farm animals are often subjected to practices like painful mutilation, physical disciplining, separation of
infants from mothers, early slaughter of male off-springs, confinement in extremely small spaces,
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
2
especially pregnant pigs caged in gestation crates, spaces so small it makes them immobile, and emotional
neglect. Food and shelter are some of the major few aspects that have legal boundaries to protect these
animals, where emotional abuse becomes an underlying tone.
These larger animals experience emotions, very similar to those of pet animals — needing human care
and attention, animal companionship and access to clean and safe environments, says Snook whose cows
need toys to play with, love to be pet and show affection to each other and her by licking. Her statements
are also reflected through the other farm animals in her care like pigs who love belly rubs and wag their
tails when happy, goats who play with each other by head-butting and other such behaviors.
Practices where an animal’s emotional well-being is ignored can cause trauma, which can shape their
behaviors in the long run. These events can be stored in memory, and associated with certain noises,
smells and people, which can lead to short term issues like stress-induced behaviors, anxiety and
depression, and in the longer run, turn into triggers. Nenn points at how the trigger points induce learned
behaviors like aggression, isolation, human avoidance, shivering, and weight loss among others. These
symptoms are all similar to the symptoms of PTSD in humans.
However, rehabilitation is possible when animals are provided with the proper physical and emotional
care. Working with animals that have seen positive change physically and emotionally, Nenn says while
animals like pigs and horses have excellent memory and can remember traumatic events for a longer time,
practices to heal them from its symptoms can help reintegrate them into their animal groups and be
comfortable around humans.
Nenn highlights some practices that rescuers, rehabilitators and animal caretakers can engage in to
address these behaviors. The practices include providing access to a clean living space with access to
outdoor areas, timely meals, spending time with animals that need care – presence and physical affection,
keeping them away from loud noises and when triggers are clearer in animals, avoiding situations that
imitate it.
The veterinarian also suggests that when animals receive proper care and attention, their behaviors can
quickly turn around - they integrate into their animal groups, eat well, trust their caretakers and can coexist in a space with humans.
The documentary project was an exploration of wellbeing in farm animals by presenting behaviors
influenced by emotions. I was able to capture visually how animals in Kindred Spirits Care Farm behave
around each other, Snook, their caregiver, and other humans. The goal was to establish how farm animals
interact with each other and humans at the facility, and how this indicates – their sentience and emotional
needs. Filming at Kindred Spirits, I explored what safe spaces look like and how rescuers can rehabilitate
these animals into loving and trusting relationships. I was also able to capture behaviors like tail wags,
animals flopping on their backs for belly rubs, licking each other, raised body hair, challenging their
companions into fights and so on - behaviors that explore a range of emotions from affection, playfulness
and agitation.
As a part of my reporting, I interviewed multiple research and rescue organizations like Farm Sanctuary,
which has a dedicated team of researchers that work with their rescued animals , Ranch Hands Rescue, a
similar rescue and research organization in Texas, and Dr. Teya Pribac, a scholar and researcher who
wrote the book ‘Enter the Animal: Cross-species perspectives on grief and spirituality’. Due to scheduling
reasons, I was unable to include these researchers in my documentary but our conversations provided me
with knowledge on animal sentience and behaviors. An overlapping discussion in all my conversations
have been the long-lasting effects of abuse of farm animals.
I was able to illustrate evidence that farm animals are sentient beings whose emotions dictate the way they
behave through filming their body movements, expressions and interactions. Since animals cannot
vocally express their emotions, the impacts are manifested physically in appearance and behavior, say
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
3
Nenn and Snook.
Nenn offers advice on how animal rescuers can engage in trauma-informed practices, so they can
rehabilitate farm animals into trusting humans again. Alongside access to food and shelter, animals need
care and attention from their fellow animals and humans, similar to most pets. Cows, pigs and horses love
to be petted, some even enjoy having toys to play with. Pigs flop on their backs, open themselves up for
belly rubs like cats and wag their tails when happy like dogs. Cows lick their companions as a way of
showing affection.
One of the biggest setbacks I had to work around was no access to animals that were recently rescued
and placed under care. Without access to an animal that was a new rescue, I was unable to visually detail
behaviors that hinted at depression and physical trauma-inflicted wounds. Moreover, I was unable to
observe how researchers measure PTSD among the animal population.
The internationally accepted standards of animal care, the Five Freedoms lists freedom from fear and
distress, stressing the importance of emotional well-being in animals that are cared for by humans.
Curbing emotional abuse in animals is an important discussion to include in commercial farming and
animal testing practices. The United States Department of Agriculture lists different laws around animal
health which define shelter, transportation, food and slaughter. Among these welfare laws, the focus is
placed primarily on an animal’s physical health which gives little consideration to emotional well-being.
Abusive practices like use of gestation crates, separation of off-spring from mothers, veal crates, tail
docking and such are still legally allowed in many states.
While the issues need to be legally addressed through laws that define emotional well-being in
animals, there are other solutions, like a shift towards veganism, buying animal produce from farms that
practice transparency, adoption of farm animals that need care, and so on says Snook, a practicing vegan
whose sustainable lifestyle practices are influenced through her work with animals. Some possible
solutions include educating people on topics like ethical farming practices, abuse within ranches, petting
zoos, barns, and veganism–all of which shift the burden on consumers, rather than larger companies and
corporate structures. The project discusses large-scale problems which cannot be possible through
prolonged and a greater shift in individual efforts .
Nenn talks of rehabilitation as a way of restoring well-being but also talks of how triggers can manifest
into behaviors even when an animal seems to be emotionally healthy. Animals can experience emotional
and physical rehabilitation and trust humans again. But I was unable to establish whether they can fullyrecover from trigger experiences without proper research to back the time-span of trauma in animals.
Conclusions:
This project considers the emotional well-being of farm animals, specifically focusing on the impact of
trauma on their behavior. The project investigates the potential for rescued farm animals to exhibit
symptoms similar to PTSD in humans and the path to rehabilitation.
As a student documentary with limited access, I was able to film valid points supporting the argument
that emotional well-being should be prioritized when dealing with farm animals and legal barriers must be
established for the same.
Limitations acknowledged in the project include restricted access to animals undergoing care, which
prevented capturing specific trauma responses. Additionally, while the film explores solutions such as
ethical farming practices and veganism, it recognizes the challenges of systemic change. There is potential
for a deeper investigation into these themes and exploration of near-term solutions. Another area of
exploration for the film in further prospects is a deeper dive into trauma in individual animals and the
difference in experiences, trauma and treatments.
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
4
The project can also be further expanded through the involvement of a legal expert who can shine light
on existing animal rights, how the issues of abuse can be fixed and what the future looks like.
Ultimately, this documentary serves as a testament to the emotional vulnerability of farm animals. By
raising awareness of their experiences, it urges viewers to consider the ethical implications of abusive
farming practices and the importance of promoting animal welfare.
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
5
SCRIPT
Documentary: https://vimeo.com/943276396
VO Karen Snook
Executive Director, Kindred
Spirits Care Farm
Karen Intv 1 6:26:48
VO Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:23:31
Music
Audio 1 2:58:28
Establishing shots of Kindred
Spirits Care Farm (KCSF)
Clip0043 4:21:27
Clip0021 6:34:23
Clip0083 5:37:46
Wide shot of KSCF
Clip0077 5:35:41
Medium shot of goats in their
enclosure
Clip0033 4:46:32
Zoom in on Snook with
animals
Clip0034 4:46:50
Do rescued farm animals experience PTSD?
I mean, if you have, if you have half a brain or our soul, and
you need an animal, they're obviously sentient
SOT Debra Merskin
Professor Emeritus,
University of Oregon
Debra Intv 2 7:49:22
Snook petting a sheep and
talking to him
Clip0036 4:48:20
Snook petting the sheep from
the left angle
Clip0038 4:49:28
It's clear that animals experience post traumatic stress
disorder.
This is my good boy, this is my good boy.
SOT Katie Nennker (Nenn)
Founder, Nenn Equine
Nenn Intv 5:29:12
Title on wide shot of KSCF
Clip0079 5:36:07
Dip to black
I do think that farm animals experience PTSD in every sense
of the word.
Beyond the barn
Exploring PTSD in rescued farm animals
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
6
SOT Snook
Karen Intv 2 6:16:04
My name is Karen Snook, and I'm the Executive Director of
Kindred Spirits Care Farm.
VO Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:37:11
Snook with sheep
Clip0022 4:06:06
Well, I wish I had to seek out these animals, but I don't, there
is. There's a network once people know you have a sanctuary,
or once people know you're willing to participate in rescuing
animals who are in trouble. You kind of get part of this
network. It involves phone calls, it involves Facebook, it
involves websites, it involves friends, it involves all kinds of
folks.
SOT Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:38:05
Screenshots from Facebook
groups of animal rehousing
efforts
2.png
4.png
1.png
3.png
I get calls, I get emails, I get Facebook posts, I get direct
messages, I get all kinds of ways people contact me and say,
oh, there's a pig who needs help. There's a goat who needs
help there's Could you take in a couple of lambs if, etc, etc.
And if I have space, I'll say yes. And I don't have space. And
I will do what I can to help network like I will put their
photographs on my uncertain Facebook pages for rescue
animals. And I'll put and I'll make some calls with people I
know have sanctuaries or might have room and we all just
work together to try to do what we can to get them a spot.
SOT Snook
Karen Intv 2 6:16:24
In the rescue world, they often say like who healed? who
rescued who, right? did I rescue the animal or did the animal
rescue me? And it's very much the same thing here. All the
animals here are rescued animals, but they in turn rescue
people.
VO Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:3:13
Music
Audio 2 0:00:16
Pan shot of Nenn Equine’s
truck outside the office
Clip0003 5:22:46
I come across animals that have experienced trauma pretty
often because I do have the opportunity to work with animals
that have been rescued or seized from a scenario into new
situations, new rescues, new homes.
SOT Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:5:22
They're very loving animals, when they're treated, and loved
the way that we love our home animals, they become very
loving back, they recognize their people.
VO Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:05:59
They want to be touched, they want to be with them, they'll
follow them around the yard. They'll come up to them with
or without food and want to be loved on. Cows are like this,
goats are like this, I do know some sheep that are like this -
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
7
Clips highlighting Snook’s
relationship with the farm
animals that correspond to
Nenn’s words
Clip0032 4:13:25
Clip0034 4:46:50
Clip0019 4:05:26
LULA 4:55:30
Clip0068 5:31:35
Clip0005 5:39:15
Clip0057 5:01:28
Clip0048 4:52:34
music ends
they love their person. Most of the time, they don't love
everybody, but they love their person.
SOT Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:30:35
And I think that as a society, we've been battling with this
idea of animal abuse for a long time. It's very well known in
small animals and it's just not as well known in farm animals
and large animals.
VO Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:25:44
Alpaca walking up to the
camera, with “Keep Hands
Away” board up
Alpaca story 4:29:31
“Keep Hands Away” sign
closeup
Clip0054 4:30:52
Alpaca’s head out of the gate
Alpaca story 4:29:50
Snook brings treats to the
Alpacas
Clip0055 4:31:03
Close up Alpaca eating treats
Clip0055 4:31:13
You know, I sort of have a saying whenever you pair profit
and animals - animals lose. End of story, there is no situation
where you are trying to maximize profit that you are not
going to take it out on the animals one way or the other.
“Don’t tell the goats.
Uh-oh, Sweet Pea found out!
She’s so jealous…”
SOT Nenn
Nenn Intv 4:54:15
Pictures from Library of
Congress
5.jpg
6.jpg
7.jpg
Clip of Snook walking up to a
cow and petting her
Clip0010 3:53:52
A lot of the time we see neglected animals, it's obvious that
they've not been touched in a long time. And they've not
been fed in a long time. Their pens or there areas are a mess
are not being cleaned. They're just really being neglected. And
so there's tells that when you know the animals and animals
behavior, that it's it's very clear to see. Because they are
sensitive animals, they remember when things happen to
them, and they will react they're very reactive.
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
8
VO Merskin
Merskin Intv 2 7:28:41
Driving in a car
Clip0020 7:27:19
Medium shot of ‘Redmond
Caves’ board
Clip0008 7:13:22
Merskin with her dog walks
across the screen
Clip0017 7:26:30
I'm a firm believer in if you wouldn't do it to yourself, your
child or your dog, why is it acceptable to do to any other
species?
SOT Merskin
Debra Intv 2 7:31:05
For example, crowding for some is normal kind of pack
behavior or protective behavior grouping together to be safe.
But if that's not and we're putting in the most in those
conditions, that's going to be triggering and stressful.
VO Merskin
Debra Intv 2 7:31:53
Merskin looking at her dog
Clip0008 7:13:29
Medium shot of the location
Clip0009 7:13:29
Merskin giving her dog a
stick
Clip0011 7:13:59
Things that happen with light and sound and other issues that
would be scary to them.
SOT Merskin
Debra Intv 2 7:29:35
And then on top of that is psychological suffering for
knowing that what's happening or what the experience is,
what the origin is, or that it might end. So for us, we might
know that if we go to the dentist, and it's uncomfortable for
us, we've chosen to be there, we understand what's
happening, and we understand it will end. But for other
species, this is all imposed upon them.
VO Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:26:44
Shot of Snook from behind -
she walks up to the barn and
exits the frame
Clip0039 4:16:43
For the dairy industry, we take babies away from their
mothers almost immediately, because we think the milk
should go to us, not to the babies, and the males are almost
universally slaughtered almost immediately. Because males
have any kind of dairy situation, they're never going to make
milk. So they're garbage. We have some goats who came
from a goat dairy, basically garbage.
SOT Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:26:30
So we play God and decide when they will die. But we've
since we like tender meat, since we like the… the… the
bodies of young animals, we slaughter them when they're still
babies.
SOT Snook
Karen Intv 2 6:17:45
Black screen starts with music
Animals have tremendous emotions, I think they're every bit
as emotional as we are, especially pigs. When I think about
when I think about trauma and grief, I think about some of
the pig pig situations that I've known, like, like Alice
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
9
Audio 2 0:00:16
Wide shot of KSCF
Clip0020 0:06:21
Snook with a pig and Alice
lying down a little further
away from her
Video starts with her and
moves towards Alice and
zooms in
Clip0033 4:13:57
Alice over there, she came from a, (it's okay, Bubba)... she's
one who came from a laboratory where she was
experimented on. And she's still a little nervous. And she's
still very vocal, which she, if, if you approach her too quickly,
she will, she still holds enough trauma that she will like run
away.
SOT Snook
Karen Intv 2 6:18:32
Close up of a pig - looks at
the camera and then starts to
walk away
clip0050 4:53:53
And it took her about 18 months for her to start to trust
people enough to like, stand close enough where we could
touch her or pet her or offer her something yummy to eat. So
she was clearly traumatized.
SOT Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:22:59
Trauma is easily detectable by their emotional attitude and
their physical appearance. When an animal is, so just their
spirit is broken, they will act very depressed and lethargic.
And it's pretty clear because they are not interactive, their
appetites might be decreased. They don't eat, what they
should be eating, their attitude and their functioning with
other animals is different, they're a little bit more standoff
VO Snook
Karen Intv 2 6:28:09
VO Snook
Karen Intv 2 6:31:03
Shots of animal behaviors
Clip0014 5:54:09
Clip0060 4:33:00
Clip0034 4:14:32
Clip0082 5:37:13
Clip0067 5:28:55
Clip0036 4:15:35
Clip of Snook showing
agitation in goats
Agitation 4:28:52
Two goats go head to head -
one jumps up on hind legs
Human beings are animals, and we show our emotions in our
bodies, too. And we feel our emotions in our bodies. And
one of the things I think is really valuable about working
around animals for a long time, is you start to become very
attuned to what body signals are.
We forget that we speak so much with our bodies.
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
10
before butting heads with the
other
Clip0064 4:34:44
SOT Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:29:12
I do think that farm animals experience PTSD, in every sense
of the word, or of the phrase, the triggers are very apparent.
The physical reaction is very apparent, the emotional reaction
is very apparent. And it's something that can be repeatable.
So I definitely think that they have incidents that traumatize
them, they have triggers that stay with them throughout their
life.
VO Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:26:50
Clip of Snook walking into
the enclosure from behind
Clip0006 5:39:22
A shot of Snook walking into
the enclosure from inside
(being shot from her right)
Clip0007 5:39:42
Snook walks up to a small
stool and sits down in
between the enclosure and
animals walk up to her
Clip0007 5:39:48
Snook petting goats from her
right
Clip0007 5:40:14
Usually, my first advice is to just spend time with them. Don't
touch them. Don't try to do anything with them. Once they
get to realize that you're just there, and you're not going to
hurt them, you're not asking anything of them. Once they
approach you first, then that's a, that's a huge win, when
they're comfortable enough to come up to you.
SOT Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:27:59
I usually will say, put their food far away from you. And then
sit with them during feeding time and move their hay a little
bit closer to you, move their hay a little bit closer to you to
the point where they're eating pretty close to you, but you're
still not touching them.
SOT Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:28:18
VO Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:28:23
Snook feeding the animals
carrot with her hands
Clip0012 3:57:58
Snook walks towards cow
barns
Clip0010 5:51:57
And then they'll usually move on to eating out of your hand.
then they'll let you touch them.
But a lot of it is working with them and not forcing them. If
you force them that's going to create another bad experience
even though in our mind, like, petting an animal feels good
and everybody wants to get pet. In their mind, it's a terrifying
event. So if you allow them to come up to you, and you can
just gently touch them, and they realize that you can touch
them without being hurt. That's another huge one. So it's
kind of starting all the way down at the bottom, just by
knowing that your presence, there is something that's okay.
And then working out from there.
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
11
Snook talks to a cow from
outside
Clip0015 5:56:44
Snook and the cow from her
left shoulder
Clip0015 5:57:04
Bg music
Audio 3 0:00:00
cow walks up to her
Clip0015 5:57:10
Cow licking Snook’s left arm
Clip0015 5:57:19
Cow licking Snook’s left arm
from a lower angle
Clip0015 5:57:25
SOT Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:26:23
Snook walks up to the cow
barn
Clip0010 5:52:16
Snook walks up to the cow
barn
Clip0015 5:54:59
Yeah, there's a wide variety of the time frame that an animal
will recover, once they're being emotionally rehabilitated
from an abusive situation.
Sometimes it's as quick as a couple of weeks. Sometimes it's
years. And eventually they break through and then you have
little wins that you can tell they're developing trust and
comfort.
SOT Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:38:49
VO Nenn
Nenn Intv 4:54:52
Video of Snook walking
through sheep in their
enclosure
Clip0023 3:55:13
Farmed animals have very few rights, you know, for us to be
able to legally do the horrors that we do to farmed animals,
we had to make sure that they don't have the same rights as
companion animals. So you can pretty much do whatever it is
you want to farmed animals, as long as the owner doesn't
mind and doesn't care
I think people are very familiar with, with small animals - that
it is illegal for you to abuse your animal. And there are black
and white rules with that. With large animals, it's much more
of a gray area, because there are things that are used on an
everyday basis that some people believe are abuse, and some
people believe are just tools of operation
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
12
SOT Merskin
Debra Intv 3 7:58:41
what makes saving animals who are being abused, so difficult
because they don't have legal standing. So to take some an
animal off someone's property, who's clearly you know, being
injured or hurt or harmed or whatever is you are taking their
property. And but it also brings up topics of that horse or
cow is different than a chair, in terms of them having a right
to a life.
VO Nenn
Nenn intv 5:30:47
VO Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:45:49
Music
Audio 2 0:00:16
Snook walking up to a pig
Clip0024 4:06:07
petting a pig
Clip0024 4:08:41
Snook petting a pig shot from
her right
Clip0026 4:09:15
A goat walks up to Snook
while petting a pig
Clip0024 4:10:07
Snook petting the goat shot
from her right
Clip0027 4:10:35
So I think that the question of what we can do to help this
situation and, correct it is a huge ball of things that as a
society in terms of taking care of humans mental health,
taking care of the people who are taking care of animals is a,
is a big one.
What do we do to try to offset or to fix animal abuse of all
kinds? And that is the biggest question. And it's gonna it's not
there's no simple answer, it's going to take everybody it's
going to be it's a cultural change. It takes people becoming
vegan, it and sharing the values and why they're vegan, it
takes people meeting these farmed animals as individuals
SOT Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:46:35
It takes people seeing some of the… maybe the videos of
what really happens behind closed doors, and those factory
farms with these animals are abused and kept in hideous
conditions.
VO Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:47:44
Shot starts with a storage
room - Snook walks into the
frame
Clip0017 6:06:35
We need to raise our own level of education and awareness
that this is a who this is not a what. These are not objects.
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
13
Snook from a different angle
inside the barn - is seen
entering to pick up a bundle
of grass
Clip0017 6:07:02
Snook seen from outside the
room exiting with the grass in
her hand and walking out of
the frame
Clip0017 6:07:29
SOT Merskin
Debra Intv 2 7:51:23
I’m vegan, and I've been a vegan for a long time. And it's
funny what an outcast you can be for that, because there's a
sense that I must be a self righteous person, or I must be this
and it's like coming, inviting a vegan to dinner, who doesn't
say anything about animals, just seems to make everybody
uncomfortable. And to me, that means they know on some
level that something is deeply, deeply wrong with what's
going on, but they'd rather not know.
VO Snook
Karen Intv 1 3:48:38
Snook walking with the grass
towards the horse enclosures
Clip0017 6:07:35
Snook walking with the grass
towards horse enclosures -
shot from her left angle
Clip0017 6:08:28
Snook walks up to the horse
and offers the food
Clip0017 6:08:37
It's very difficult to educate people on things they don't want
to know.
SOT Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:31:51
So it's a hard concept to understand that something that is
loved like a pet would end up going to the food chain. But
the importance that I see is that the animals while they're with
us and in our care, receive the best possible care that they
can
VO Nenn
Nenn Intv 5:32:10
Snook walks back from the
horse enclosure
Clip time
Snook from behind walking
up to the storage room to
shut the door
Clip time
And that is not just physical care, but emotional wellbeing as
well.
Dir
Anusha S
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
14
A shot from inside the
storage room - we see Snook
closing the door
Clip time
NAT SOUND of the door
shutting
Clip time
Fade to black
Music ends
Documentary run time:
14m 50s
Copyright 2024 Anusha Shankar
15
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. National Center for PTSD
2. Farm Sanctuary Research
3. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
4. The economics of farm animal welfare
5. When Is Rescue Necessary-Applying the Necessity Defense to the Rescue of Animals
6. Animal rescue tourism: digital technology-enhanced approaches to support voluntourist
engagement, animal welfare and rights
7. Helping hands, hurting hooves: Towards a multidisciplinary paradigm of large animal rescue
8. How animals grieve
9. Negative versus positive reinforcement: An evaluation of training strategies for
rehabilitated horses
10. Physiology and behavior of animal suffering
11. Pain and distress in agricultural animals
12. Psychological distress in chimpanzees rescued from laboratories
13. Animal models of PTSD: a challenge to be met
14. Animal model for PTSD: from clinical concept to translational research
15. Predator-induced fear causes PTSD-like changes in the brains and behaviour of
wild animals
16. The relevance of differential response to trauma in an animal model
of posttraumatic stress disorder
17. Behavioral profiling as a translational approach in an animal model
of posttraumatic stress disorder
18. Prevalence and patterns of complex PTSD in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)
19. Building an inner sanctuary: complex PTSD in chimpanzees
20. COMPLEX POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN
THAI ELEPHANTS
21. PTSD: Know the warning signs
22. Intelligence, complexity and individuality in sheep
23. Contributions of animal agriculture to meeting global human food demand
24. Elements of societal perception of farm animal welfare: A quantitative study in The Netherlands
25. Animal Cruelty in Factory Farms Statistics – Harrowing Truth Behind Meat & Dairy Industry!
26. Understanding animal abuse: A sociological analysis
27. Animal rights, animal abuse and green criminology
28. Confronting animal abuse: Law, criminology, and human-animal relationships
29. State Farm Animal Protection Laws
30. Proposal to Regulate Farm Animal Confinement in the United States and an Overview of
Current and Proposed Laws on the Subject
31. Farm animal protection policymaking and the law: The impetus for change
32. Politicizing farm animal welfare: A comparative study of policy change in the United States
of America
33. Moral Disengagement and Support for Nonhuman Animal Farming
34. The end of animal farming: How scientists, entrepreneurs, and activists are building an animalfree food system
Abstract (if available)
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Shankar, Anusha
(author)
Core Title
Beyond the barn: exploring PTSD in rescued farm animals
School
Annenberg School for Communication
Degree
Master of Arts
Degree Program
Specialized Journalism
Degree Conferral Date
2024-05
Publication Date
05/21/2024
Defense Date
05/19/2024
Publisher
Los Angeles, California
(original),
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
animal rescue,Animals,farm animals,OAI-PMH Harvest,post traumatic stress disorder,PTSD,PTSD in animals
Format
theses
(aat)
Language
English
Contributor
Electronically uploaded by the author
(provenance)
Advisor
Kahn, Gabriel (
committee chair
), Hirsch, Afua (
committee member
), Lopez, Allan (
committee member
)
Creator Email
anushash@usc.edu,s.anusha1109@gmail.com
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113950168
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UC113950168
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Shankar, Anusha
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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
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Tags
animal rescue
farm animals
post traumatic stress disorder
PTSD
PTSD in animals