Welcome to SWIVL

Your Contributions Provide Shelter from the Arizona Sun

Lila and Katie have a new shelter thanks to the generous contributions of SWIVL supporters.   Constructed by local builders, SWIVL works with teachers, parents, and community members to develop strong relationships driven by a mutual respect for all sentient beings.  All tax deductible contributions go directly to SWIVL services and programs.  According to SWIVL Co- Founder, Dr. Kathleen Wishnick, It did not take long for these two sisters to find their new shelter – free from the Arizona desert sun.  Wishnick, who rescued Lila and Katie in California and drove them back to Arizona, is grateful to the people that made this shelter possible.  

Lila and Katie are two of the lucky ones.  They are loved and most of all respected.  It is estimated that 90% of all pigs, like Lila and Katie, spend their lives in factory farms. Lila and Katie, like their brothers and sisters everywhere, are highly social, affectionate and intelligent creatures, and suffer both physically and emotionally when they are confined in narrow cages where they cannot even turn around.

Many pigs become crazy with boredom and develop vices like mouthing, and nervous ticks; others are driven to fighting and cannibalism because of their frustration.   Factory farm pigs never see daylight until they are shipped for slaughter. Dust, dirt and toxic gases from the pigs' waste create an unsanitary environment that encourages the onset of a number of diseases and illnesses, including pneumonia, cholera, dysentery and trichinosis. 

Please make a tax deductible contribution to help us save and protect more companion and farmed animals.  SWIVL desperately needs to build shelters, including water and sanitary facilities, in order to rescue and protect other animals from the harsh Arizona summer.

Volunteer with SWIVL

Become a Southwest Institute for ViolenceFree Learning (SWIVL) Volunteer. Become part of a growing movement for ending the cycle of violence.  Unlike other programs and strategies that focus only on animal abuse, child abuse, or domestic violence, SWIVL takes the approach that violence is indivisible and that animal, child, and domestic violence are cut from the same cloth.   Formed in 2003 as a 501(c)3, SWIVL is a nonprofit organization established to respond to the growing state of violence and discord in our families, communities, nation, and world.  SWIVL believes the first place to start is with the torture, abuse, and animal abandonment. 

SWIVL has no paid staff.  All contributions go directly to SWIVL programs and services.  Please contact SWIVL if you are interested in volunteering for any of the activities below:

• Volunteer and learn how to be a humane educator in the classroom.
• Volunteer to develop and maintain farmed animal habitats.
• Volunteer as a community organizer to help build a sanctuary for dogs that are abandoned in the desert.
• Volunteer as a veterinarian to provide free spade and neutering clinics in the Arivaca, AZ community.
• Volunteer as an intern to assist in the general health and welfare of farmed and companion animals.
• Volunteer as part of the SWIVL speaker’s bureau for community events and meetings.
• Volunteer as a guide for individuals and groups that visit SWIVL.

Please contact SWIVL if you are interested in volunteering for any of the above activities.

The Emotional World of Farmed Animals

Study guide and film FREE to teachers! Animal Place is proud to announce the creation of a curriculum unit on farmed animals for secondary teachers! The 50-page study guide accompanies our film, The Emotional World of Farm Animals, which has been aired nationally on PBS.
Geared for all ages, this study guide introduces students to the intelligence and emotional states of cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats and sheep.

If you are a teacher interested in receiving a FREE copy of our study guide AND PBS-aired film, The Emotional World of Farm Animals, please fill out the registration form.

Our thanks to the Glaser Progress Foundation & the Animal Welfare Trust for funding this project. Film also available for purchase!  The film can be purchased on-line for $20.

Lovin' Spoonfuls Spoons Up Love for SWIVL and Other Animal Advocacy Groups

Lovin' Spoonfuls Vegetarian Restaurant in Tucson has started a new project called "Beads for Needs".  Owner Dr. Peg Raisglid makes beaded jewelry to sell at the restaurant, splitting the profit with a different animal rescue/advocacy group each month.  For the month of August, the proceeds will be donated to SWIVL.  Peg quit her day job as a Ph. D. Chemist to open up Lovin' Spoonfuls in the hopes of being able to help promote veganism, a more compassionate, less violent lifestyle.  September will mark the forth year of success for the restaurant.  Anyone dining at the restaurant should be sure to check out the "Beads for Needs" display!