Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, is anticipating the arrival of two new additions—a mother cow and her calf—to its 300-acre shelter in Orland, CA this afternoon. The animals were seized from a Watsonville area farm by Santa Cruz Animal Services after the newborn calf was found dying in an open field last Tuesday.
The male calf—no more than a week old—was in plain view from the road when animal services arrived on the scene. Barely breathing and non-responsive, the sick calf was immediately impounded and taken to a Santa Cruz veterinarian, where he was treated for a severe naval infection. According to Santa Cruz Animal Services, if the calf hadn’t been seized so quickly, he would have died within five or six hours.
The calf’s mother, one of about 11 other animals being raised for beef on the Santa Cruz County farm, was seized the following day after veterinarians determined that the newborn’s recovery depended on her. The mother, reportedly thin from having recently given birth, was otherwise stable and resumed nursing her child upon their reunion. The pair was moved to the Santa Cruz SPCA before the weekend.
When asked by Todd Stosuy, supervising animal services field manager for Santa Cruz Animal Services, why he didn’t seek help for the calf, the animal’s owner said, “The calf is only worth $5, so why would I pay to treat it?” The calf was worth more to Stosuy who explained, “Whether we are dealing with a rat or a giraffe, we treat all as sentient creatures deserving of protection and enforce cruelty statutes across the board.”
Both cow and calf have been relinquished to animal services and will be transported by Stosuy to Farm Sanctuary’s Orland shelter today. The animals’ arrival closely follows that of Cupid, a newborn male dairy calf who fell from a slaughter-bound truck in Merced County about two weeks ago. His story can be found at www.farmsanctuary.org.
“Calves nearly always come to us as orphans. It is rare that we get to welcome moms and their babies to our shelter,” said Leanne Cronquist, Farm Sanctuary’s California Shelter manager. “Most animals raised for food are removed from their mothers, yet cows are extremely sensitive and maternal. Giving these animals a chance to spend their lives together is the best gift we could ever give them.”
The calf and his mother will join a herd of 34 cattle who have found safe harbor at Farm Sanctuary’s California Shelter—including Chrissie and Melanie, another bovine mother-child duo who, after many years of sanctuary life, are inseparable to this day.
Note: Photos of the cow and her calf available upon request.
About Farm Sanctuary
Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming.