Number 174, the number issued to a little calf who had no name. 174, stripped from his mother within only 24 hours of his birth was facing the fate of hundreds of thousands of calves.
Condemned to a life with one sole purpose, to eat until his body was big enough for human consumption.
174’s mother, like most female cows on dairy farms, is kept in a constant cycle – artificial impregnation, birthing, milk production, repeat. 174 may have not been the first calf she had carried and birthed, to be taken from her. Heartbreakingly, nor would he be the last.
You may hope the routine abuse would become easier for her. This is not the case. So traumatised, mothers have broken down fences, cried in anguish and even hidden their calves from farmers.
Their stolen calves are split into two groups, those for human consumption and those to be “disposed of”. 174 was destined for the former.
That was until 174 met Sarah.
Sarah is a backpacker from Germany, like many travelling in Australia she was completing her visa-required regional work on a dairy farm. Day after day she would visit the calves and one always stuck out to her. He would seek Sarah out and the two became bonded to one another.
She named him, Bounty.
This was the first time he had ever been treated as anything but a number, he joyfully began to come to his name being called.
As the end date of her farm work commitment loomed Sarah began to fear for Bounty. She could not simply leave him.
She convinced the farmer to let her buy him, but she had one problem, where would he go? As she had no residency here she searched for a safe place for him. That is when she found ‘Til The Cows Come Home.
Sarah found out how we rescue unwanted, unviable, “waste’’ farmed animals, rehabilitate them in short-term foster care and rehome them into safe, forever-loving homes as companions.
We worked closely with Sarah to secure Bounty’s rescue and transportation to safety. This would be a stressful experience for little Bounty. Cows, much like humans, are sociable animals. They bond with their friends and like any of us in the most stressful of times we need our companions.
So we negotiated with the farmer for another’s freedom. His name is Ollie.
Bounty and Ollie were safely transported to our nearest Foster Carer. Here they received medical care, nourishment and above all else, freedom.
Sarah was able to visit Bounty in foster care, where she expressed, “so many people thought I was crazy, but after seeing him today I know I made the right decision.”
Since then, the pair have been adopted and are living their best lives with their forever family.
You may remember Joaquin Phoniex’s 2020 Oscar speech, highlighting the “distressing issues” we face today, including the treatment of a cow on a dairy farm.
His words ring as true today, “When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. He said: “run to the rescue with love and peace will follow.”
