Exotic and wild animals find dignity and respect in an ecological sanctuary in the countryside of São Paulo, Brazil

The Rancho dos Gnomos Sanctuary has a history marked by chance, awareness, and a spiritual commitment to the lives of animals. These cases have revealed themselves over time as a vocation of a couple who had everything to follow a defined life plan but saw their paths transformed through deep contact with the soil, plants, and animals.

Love, in fact, plays a significant role in this story. Silvia Pompeu, the founder of Rancho dos Gnomos, says that her work in defense of animals began after she got married. She was living outside Brazil when she returned to formalize the union with her partner, Marcos Pompeu, whom she had been dating for ten years. The idea was to return abroad after the wedding, but unexpectedly, they ended up settling in an old family farm in Cotia, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil.

The site covered an area of 36 thousand square meters. Despite being part of the family, Silvia rarely visited the place. The last time she was there was to store furniture and other belongings from their old apartment, which they intended to leave behind while they returned abroad. However, the unexpected happened: “All friends and family kept objects that they no longer used on the farm, and we also went to take our stuff, but we ended up staying with them!” Silvia says, laughing.

Respect for animals has always been crucial

Silvia had been kept away from the family farm for years due to memories of animals being raised for food. She recalls, “I was little, about 11 years old, and every time my parents went to the farm and killed a chicken or a pig, I would run with my brother into the woods. I couldn’t identify it, but I felt a terrible discomfort.” Today, her brother Fernando also works at the sanctuary, welcoming and protecting the animals. The sanctuary was created shortly after Silvia and Marcos settled on the family farm in 1991. They didn’t know it yet, but the unexpected change had set them on a lifelong commitment. Silvia recalls, “The farm had been in our family for at least 25 years, but we almost never went there. I had no affinity with the land, nor with insects and plants.”

The arrival of a goat named Talismã at the site during that period was particularly influential in the couple’s change of values. Talismã was going to have a puppy, and they sold a car to set up a safe place for her. From that point on, a relationship of respect and devotion to the life of all beings on planet Earth began to take shape.

Silvia mentions, “Without realizing it, we were open to this newness of life. Soon after that, we participated in the Arca Brasil Congress, and there we had an incredible awakening of consciousness.” The congress, which spanned three days, focused on the suffering of animals, and in the end, Silvia decided to join the cause after a painful awakening.

For a more harmonious world

During her journey, Silvia faced several dilemmas. She used to say that she lived happily but disconnected, taking care of her own interests, and believed there was no way out of the global problem of animal cruelty. She recalls, “This was a great suffering, the helplessness of thinking that we really weren’t going to make it.”

However, with the help of her father, Nelson Andrade, who donated the land and provided emotional support, and drawing strength from spirituality, she channeled her indignation into action. Thus, they began their activism in the early 1990s, a time when there were few animal protection laws and limited internet resources. Silvia states that there was no declared activism in Brazil at that time. But she realized that all her actions, no matter how small, were important as they would impact the lives of those who were suffering.

“I stopped focusing on the enormity of planetary cruelty and started looking around me. The work was manual, but there was also the whole issue of paperwork,” says Silvia, who needed to obtain various documents, such as licenses, certifications, and registrations from competent authorities like IBAMA, Consema, and Conama, among others, to accommodate exotic and wild animals.

Ecological sanctuary

The first exotic animal that arrived at the ranch was a lioness named Tacha, at the request of IBAMA. “That’s when the ranch truly began, and we started to understand the need for activism, spirituality, and paperwork,” says Silvia. For her, activism always goes hand in hand with spirituality. Additionally, she believes it is important to contribute to the improvement of human beings in some way so that the animals can be well.

However, over the years, the area where the farm was located in Cotia became urbanized and ceased to be a rural area. The excessive noise at night, combined with constant conflicts with the police in the surroundings, began to interfere with the sanctuary’s security. The animals were losing their quality of life, explains Silvia.

“The sanctuary is truly a sacred place for the animals. They are rescued from situations of mistreatment, neglect, exploitation, abuse, and violence. When there were parties nearby, often with loud music until 10 am, they couldn’t sleep anymore,” she recalls.

The search for a new space took about seven years. They found an area in Joanópolis, in the Serra da Mantiqueira region, but they had no means to purchase the land. So, in 2015, they launched a fundraising campaign on the Kickante platform. The campaign was a success, with a record number of donations, bringing even more visibility to the work done at the ranch.

“This was a wonderful surprise because we work so hard, and everything is so painful and challenging, rescuing and caring for these victims. But we had no idea of the extent of it all. And through the campaign, we received this feedback. The media contributed, and the ranch became truly known,” says Silvia.

Abandonment and abuse

The sanctuary had already welcomed over 25,000 animals when it relocated from Cotia to Joanópolis in 2016. The new space occupies an area of 170,000 square meters. The media coverage, while contributing to raising awareness about animal cruelty, also led to an increase in reports of abandonment and mistreatment, resulting in the sanctuary receiving more animals.

This year marks the 32nd anniversary of Rancho dos Gnomos’ activity in the protection of exotic and wild animals. There are no official data on abandoned animals in Brazil, but according to estimates from Non-Governmental Organizations, dogs and cats are the most commonly abandoned animals in the country, followed by horses and donkeys.

Similarly, there is a lack of data on the abandonment of exotic and wild animals. However, based on the experience at Rancho dos Gnomos, it is possible to predict that animal trafficking is the main cause of abandonment for wild animals. The ban on the use of animals in circuses since the 2000s also resulted in the mass abandonment of exotic, elderly, and sick animals such as lions, tigers, chimpanzees, bears, among others.

Animal abandonment has been considered a crime in Brazil since 1998. However, there is still no federal legislation prohibiting the use of animals in circus performances. Consequently, only 12 out of the 26 Brazilian states have regulated the issue through municipal and state laws. It was only in 2023, with the beginning of the new federal government, that the Department of Protection, Defense, and Animal Rights was created in Brazil for the first time in the country’s history through Decree No. 11.349.

Environmental Education and Veganism

To combat abuse and violence against exotic and wild animals, Rancho dos Gnomos has been investing in environmental education. For ten years, while the ranch was still in Cotia, the couple carried out extensive work to raise awareness about the exploitation of animals in circuses, aquariums, and zoos. Silvia visited several cities across Brazil and estimates that she has impacted at least 30,000 children through lectures and other educational activities.

The dissemination of information is crucial for raising awareness. Animals are confined, their teeth and claws are extracted, and burning is a common practice during training. Prisons, mutilations, and training must be eliminated from human-animal relations for a society characterized by harmony and respect. The use of animals in food should also be reconsidered, says Silvia.

Veganism, she emphasizes, goes beyond dietary choices and encompasses respect and dignity for animals. “It is not enough to say we want to preserve the jaguar, which is endangered if its habitat is being destroyed for cattle ranching,” she warns. For her, many people claim to love animals because they love dogs and cats but do not extend this love to chickens, pigs, cows, rabbits, goats, fish, etc.

“It is a fragmented love, so it is a matter of reflection. We cannot talk about love or respect for animal rights if it is limited to certain animals,” she says. Law No. 9,605/98, which defines crimes against animals, criminalizes mistreatment, abandonment, and killing of domestic, domesticated, wild, and exotic animals.

However, there are no objections to raising animals for food and clothing or for use in scientific experiments. “Nobody wants to get their hands dirty, pick up a machete, and slaughter an animal. But there is a path of violence leading to the market that people prefer not to acknowledge”, Silvia recalls.

Friend Bear

The late singer Rita Lee visited the ranch years ago and wrote a book called “Amiga Ursa” (Friend Bear) about Rowena, the first bear rescued by the couple from Piauí. Rowena was considered the saddest bear in the world. She was in a deplorable state when found at the zoo in Piauí, a region known for its hot climate: she had scabies, fleas, ticks, fungus, and worm infestations. However, after arriving at the ranch, she transformed into a beautiful bear within ten months.

Rita Lee learned about this story and created a children’s book about circus animals to raise awareness among children. She also wanted to meet Rowena in person. “Rita Lee was deeply impressed, and she described it as one of the most emotional days of her life,” recalls Silvia. Unfortunately, Rowena has since passed away. She had a seizure one day, and after her death, it was discovered that she had a ten-pound ovarian tumor.

In Brazil, there are no native bears. All bears in the country were imported by zoos and circuses, and they often end up abandoned when they grow old and develop health issues. Mizar, Rowena’s sister, for example, is also under the care of Silvia and Marcos Pompeu. She was exploited for 20 years in circuses and then spent another 10 years imprisoned in a zoo in the Northeast.

Silvia warns that all animals welcomed at the sanctuary come with numerous consequences. Therefore, the work at the ranch is intense. “We receive what’s left of these animals at the ranch, striving to restore their lost dignity. We engage in physical rescue work and aim to bring peace to their souls that have been torn apart,” she concludes.

Do you want to support this cause?

The ranch is sustained through a collaborators program, with monthly and occasional contributors. Silvia and Marcos Pompeu also contribute their own resources to the ranch. Additionally, there are partnerships that support the ranch’s work, such as Porto Seguro, which has been providing free transportation for rescued animals for over 15 years, and the compounding pharmacy O Alquimista, which has been assisting with homeopathy and floral remedies for 20 years. There is also a network of volunteers, including veterinarians, specialized clinics, laboratories, and more.

Donations and partnerships can be made through the Rancho dos Gnomos website.

For more information, please contact us via email: contato@ranchodosgnomos.org.br.