Anacortes wolfdogs raise questions about the line between sanctuaries and zoos

An exotic animal sanctuary in Anacortes could soon be forced to shut down. It’s raising questions about what may happen to the animals there as well as the line between a facility that assists animals and a place that functions as a private zoo.

The facility is called “Because We Matter Exotic Animal Sanctuary" and formerly "Predators of the Heart."

A menagerie of animals live on the property, including bobcats, cougars, birds of prey, sloths, raccoons, and opossums. It’s most known for a pack of wolf-dog hybrids, which are well documented on the organization's TikTok account.

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The executive director of the sanctuary, Ashley Carr, said that a complicated series of regulatory and legal actions is now threatening the sanctuary.

Up until February of 2022, Carr had been using AirBnb to offer small groups the opportunity to go inside the wolfdog enclosure and meet the animals. But last year, Skagit County informed Carr that she needs a permit to hold tours of the facility. She has been unable to get that permit. Carr said that puts the sanctuary under threat, because the tours were a primary source of revenue for the operation.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund opposed granting the permit. It said in a comment submitted to the Skagit County Hearing Examiner that, "reputable sanctuaries adhere to a set of generally accepted standards. These include no human-animal contact, no breeding, and no sale of animals. Despite declaring itself a 'wildlife sanctuary,' Predators of the Heart violates all three of these standards."

Carr acknowledged that the wolfdogs at Because We Matter were born at the facility and two were sold to another organization in 2017. That was while Carr’s father was executive director. He was ousted by the board because of practices like this and Carr said that kind of occurrence doesn’t happen anymore.

Carr said she’s willing to end those experiences, but she needs another way to financially stay afloat.

"If I can financially survive without doing tours, I'm OK with that," Carr said.

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If the shelter shuts down, Carr claimed she will need to euthanize some of the animals because of limited shelter space and the age of the wolfdogs. Both the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Northwest Animal Rights Network disputed this claim and said it is possible to rehome these animals instead of putting them down.

The whole episode raises questions about what makes an animal sanctuary and how to even classify wolf-dog hybrids.

"If a facility is going to call itself a sanctuary or refuge, then that's sort of implying to the public that the animals that they have there are wild animals that need ... some sort of caretaking," said environmental writer Emma Marris, who covers animal ethics.

To Marris, that line isn't clear in this case.

"If the animals that are in that sanctuary are actually domestic dogs, then that seems confusing to me," she said.

Carr says she intends to continue to fight for this permit in superior court.

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