Rehabilitating our Residents

First of all, I want to start this post with a huge thank you to you all for being so patient with me the past few weeks. What you are about to read is devastating, but with the help and support of many amazing people, the outcome has been hugely successful. We have been faced with an extremely serious, stressful and terrifying situation. No words can fathom how frustrated and terrified I have been during this time, a time which almost brought the sanctuary to its knees. We have not been able to speak or update you all about what has been going on, as we could not risk the safety of our cows whilst sorting out this incredibly dire situation. We are now in a position where it is safe to explain to our loyal followers what has happened, so that is exactly what I will do.

As you all know, 2020 has been an incredibly hard year. We were able to raise an incredible $26,000 for the sanctuary, to clear a grazing bill and secure the safety of our cows, as well as covering other sanctuary expenses. After this, we started a plan to ensure we never got ourselves into the same situation. We cracked down on our budgeting, and created a new sponsorship program to start securing the financial security of the sanctuary. Unfortunately the world was then hit with a global pandemic, which rendered us in a difficult position. Prior to COVID lockdown, we conducted daily feeds and checks on our self regulated properties and a weekly check on our grazing property of our precious residents. The majority of our cows lived on the grazing property, the property that we had cleared the bill with. They had been staying here since September, and maintained their beautiful condition, and content personalities. The grazing contract involved the grazier to feed and look after the general health of the herd, the care of them being down to the grazier whilst I did routine checkups. Due to COVID, New Zealand went into level 4 lockdown. Legally we were not allowed to leave our houses unless required for work or an emergency (As you New Zealander’s will know). As the main herd was on a grazing property, it became illegal to do our weekly checks on them because there was already someone primarily looking after them. As well as this, I was comfortable with their health and wellbeing, so felt confident with them being under this persons care. I am absolutely devastated by this decision. We were not allowed to enter the property due to lockdown laws. I made sure to stay in direct contact with the grazier, and request weekly updates as we were not allowed to visit. This worked out well, so it seemed. I was assured the herd was doing well. We maintained our daily checks and feeds of the other properties of course, keeping our residents happy.

Lockdown was lifted so my first trip was a trip heading straight to see the beautiful big residents of the sanctuary, many who have been part of the family for over 12 years. Arriving at the property, a bellowing, hollow and hungry herd ran up to be, stuck in the same strip of paddock they were in the day previous to level 4 lockdown, the stacks of bales had not decreased since I last saw them, no sign of supplement feed in their paddock, nothing. What I saw was something I never could have expected. A herd I didn’t recognise, they came up to me, and I was certain this was not my herd of cows. They had all lost a significant amount of weight, and were skeletal, emaciated, they had been starved. I was in utter shock and could not believe what my eyes were seeing. It was obvious what had happened, although the grazier had been sending us ongoing updates that the cows were doing well, they were being fed the required amount as per our contract, it was clear that this was outright neglect.

I immediately contacted MPI, an organisation who regulates the welfare of farmed animals in New Zealand. They swiftly came out to the property, along with a vet to examine the cows, and were appalled at what they saw. They immediately started an investigation against the grazier.

I worked along MPI and our dedicated team of vets to construct a plan, to assess the worst, and get started on an overall treatment plan. The vets came out and ran blood tests on each cow, test after test was taken. Johnes, Bovine BVD, full body examinations, fecal samples, trace elements, the vets covered as many bases as they could to rule out anything major that could’ve caused this dramatic change. We all knew the real reason. Every single test came back clear. They treated them with metabolaise, an IV fluid that aids in energy and regeneration. The entire herd have been drenched, and will have a mineral shot in two weeks time. The main thing was getting feed into them. As you will see in the photos, some of them were reported at a body score of just 2.5, this is disgusting and heartbreaking. There is absolutely no excuse for this lack of care. They instructed us on exactly what we needed to do to get the cows back to health, the amount of research we all did on which supplement feed is best, as well as organising correct amounts was daunting but we got there. Luckily our vets were optimistic that we can bring them all back to health, although it will be a long process, a tiring and rocky recovery for our beloved herd, they will come back from this.

The moment I laid eyes on them that day, my immediate thought was to get them out, off, away from this awful place and out from under the supervision of these people. It just so happens that two perfect properties came up during the very week that the investigation was started. Within two weeks, a huge amount of supplement feeding, vet visit after vet visit, lack of sleep, organising and trying to get my head around this, our precious herd made a safe landing on their new grass, two big, safe and lush properties.

This situation has been the hardest time I have faced running the sanctuary, to see these animals come from cruelty, neglect and suffering, to see them blossom and then have them let down again, has been absolutely heartbreaking. I have put photos below of them enjoying their new places, big rolling hills and freedom. Going forward, going into winter, it is going to be tough, getting our residents back to their original health will be a long healing process. A feeding plan has been put in place, and routine follow ups with the vets to ensure our residents are making the right progress and recovery with their weight gain and overall health.

Because of the nature of this world and animal agriculture, the sanctuary does not stand a chance at taking this matter further. This is absolutely gutting and infuriating to know we cannot get justice for our precious animals and Macey who we lost during this time. The most important thing coming out of this, is knowing that these animals are safe and they will be okay, that is the biggest thing I can take away from this devastating situation. Moving forward, and continuing for these animals is what matters the most. I am working on this further but with little hope that anything can be done, apart from a written warning from authorities.

This has caused a huge amount of financial strain on the sanctuary, with the vet bill being $5,000. Some beautiful people have made some substantial donations towards the animals here, which has been so appreciated. Coming into winter costs are always high, we have been so lucky to source over 400 large bales of Lucerne, balage and hay. If you can help towards the care and feed for our residents, please consider making a donation into the sanctuary account, or givealittle below. If you have land you would like to offer for some rescued residents, or have space in your family to adopt, please contact me.

From now on, as a sanctuary, we will no longer graze our cows, they will stay on properties that are regulated only by myself, fosters and the team at the sanctuary to ensure these animals do not face this same situation again. I am hugely sorry if I haven’t returned your messages, this has taken a huge toll and exhausted all of my resources these past few weeks, a time that I will never forget. I am so grateful to several people in my life who have worked along side me to get through this, and ensure our residents get everything they need to thrive in the future.

I have attached some before and after pictures of our herd, there are a few residents in particular who we are very concerned about, Mildred and Mavis being pictured first. The last pictures are the two herds safe at their new properties.

With some of our members of the herd being severely underweight and in critical condition, we will need to purchase covers to keep them warm, aiding in their recovery. We also have the supplement feed costs and ongoing vet visits.

With the cows being safe, and having an amazing support system, the only battle now is time, the time to get our herd back to where they started. Soon, the sanctuary will have its own property to call home, but for now our precious, exhausted but recovering herd are safe where they are, and receiving everything they need to make it back to where they once were just weeks ago. I am so grateful to everyone who has stood beside me during these devastating times. I will keep you updated on their journey, now that they are out of harms way.

Thank you.