Tim Woodward of Animal Rescue Corps — Large-Scale Animal Rescue, Cruelty Response & the Fight for Animals

In this powerful episode, Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan sit down with Tim Woodward, Executive Director of Animal Rescue Corps (ARC), an organization founded the same year as Our Hen House — 2010 — that has since conducted over 200 large-scale rescue operations saving thousands of animals from neglect, abuse, and crisis situations across the country.

• Large-scale animal rescue operations: ARC has rescued approximately 10,000 dogs, 1,200 cats, 461 farmed animals, 461 farmed fowl, and hundreds of other species — all with a euthanasia rate of less than 1%
• How ARC works with law enforcement: From undercover evidence gathering to on-site triage and expert court testimony, ARC serves as a critical resource that empowers law enforcement to act on cruelty cases they’d otherwise lack the capacity to address
• The shelter crisis, transport debate & spay/neuter culture: Tim discusses the ongoing challenges of overcrowded Southern shelters, the north-south animal transport controversy, and why inter-organizational collaboration is essential to making progress
• Puppy mills, backyard breeders & industrial animal farming: Tim draws parallels between the industrialization of dog breeding and factory farming, explaining why large-scale commercial operations remain nearly impossible to penetrate — and why ARC fights to rescue every animal on a property, including farmed and exotic animals
• A vegan organization with a rescue mission: Tim shares that Animal Rescue Corps operates with an explicitly vegan philosophy — serving plant-based meals to volunteers, hosting vegan events, and advocating that animals should not be harmed or used for any purpose — with Tim himself eating a plant-based diet

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Tim Woodward is the Executive Director and a founding member of Animal Rescue Corps, which he helped launch in 2010 after recognizing the critical lack of resources for large-scale animal suffering situations. Before dedicating himself full-time to animal protection in 2009, Tim spent over 30 years in operations and administration, building financial service startups in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now leading ARC’s staff, programs, and mission impact, he is equally at home conducting fieldwork alongside law enforcement as he is behind a desk — a versatility recognized in 2020 when the Animal Legal Defense Fund named him one of America’s Top Ten Animal Defenders. Tim lives in Virginia with his husband and their rescued animals, and is a passionate advocate for plant-based living.

We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read this episode’s interview.

_____________________________________________

Thank you for listening to the Our Hen House podcast! If you enjoy our podcasts, believe in our mission to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, find community and solace in our shows and resources, and would like to show your support for vegan indie media, please make a donation today. Contributions of any amount are hugely appreciated. Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or your favorite podcatcher, and don’t forget to leave a 5-star review!

Check out Our Hen House’s other podcasts: The Animal Law Podcast, The Teaching Jasmin How to Cook Vegan Podcast, and the Antiracism in Animal Advocacy Audio Series.

Follow us on social media! You can find Our Hen House on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or Bluesky.

The Our Hen House theme song is written and performed by Michael Harren.

Join hostesses Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan on this unique and fun award-winning podcast that focuses on changing the world for animals.

SUBSCRIBE: iTunes | Android | Google | Stitcher | RSS