Sanctuary Tails

Animal Photo of the Week: Mario

 

Today’s photo comes from volunteer photographer Zarah Hedge and features one our most well-known and beloved California Shelter residents: Mario! It’s hard to believe that this doe-eyed steer was once discarded as a newborn calf and left to linger on a dairy farm dead pile. Saved by a most unlikely rescuer, Mario (who also had a badly injured leg and required major surgery to recover) certainly survived against the odds, growing up to be a powerful ambassador for those less fortunate than he. Read his harrowing rescue story here.

Thankful for Turkeys

 

by Susie

Here at Farm Sanctuary, we give turkeys special attention around Thanksgiving, and why not? They deserve it! These native birds roamed this land long before the Pilgrims came to America and started celebrating the autumn harvest festival that remains one of our nation’s most cherished annual traditions. And yet most people think of turkeys only in terms of body parts — breasts, wings and “drumsticks” — to be crisped, carved and eaten for the holiday meal. I suspect that’s because they’ve never actually met any turkeys, and just don’t know how amazing they are.

Take Merino: he was among dozens of turkeys rescued from a man who tried making money by raising birds in his basement for the Thanksgiving market. Merino arrived at the New York Shelter emaciated, wheezing from a respiratory infection, and suffering from a facial paralysis that crossed his beak over itself (making it difficult for him to eat). Despite his debilitation, Merino shows an overpowering affection for both people and animals: too bad few folks are fortunate enough to meet a turkey who changes lives just by being himself. 
 
Bubbles, one of this year’s Adopt-A-Turkey Project superstars, is another turkey whose loving warmth inspires compassion. This little cutie came to us last year as a baby ball of fluff: detoed, debeaked, suffering from lung and leg problems, and needing lots of TLC. Yet if you visit the New York sanctuary today, Bubbles will lay right down beside your feet for a pat on the head, and you can see this beautiful girl’s pure zest for life as she bolts across the turkey pasture. 

While I’m thankful that Bubbles, Merino and all the other intelligent, sensitive and charismatic turkeys at Farm Sanctuary are making their mark on the world, tens of millions of these birds will face cruel deaths this Thanksgiving. You can help change the tide by taking part in our our Adopt-A-Turkey Project and asking everyone you know to do the same.

On behalf of all your feathered friends at Farm Sanctuary, have a happy and humane holiday!

Pictured above: Merino turkey

Animal Photo of the Week: Harry

 

Today’s photo comes from Jo-Anne McArthur, an amazing activist and photojournalist from Canada. Jo interned at our New York Shelter in 2003 and has been coming back to visit ever since. On one of her most recent trips, this special guy caught her eye and it’s no wonder – he has one of the most unique faces we’ve ever smiled back at. This handsome gentleman is Harry, a Large Black pig (a rare breed more commonly found in England, New Zealand and Australia) who came to us from a Canadian farm in 2008. Harry’s tale is just as captivating as he is, so you’ll definitely want to read more about him here.

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Seeking Justice for Farm Animals

 

by Leanne

Susie Moo’s bleeding horn first alerted Santa Cruz Animal Services Supervising Field Manager Todd Stosuy that something was terribly wrong at the Watsonville, California slaughterhouse. Thanks to his intervention, the cow and 13 goats, all undernourished and many suffering from pneumonia, conjunctivitis or overgrown hooves, were removed from the feedlot where they had been kept and brought to our Orland shelter for emergency care. Seeing the group today – all of the children sleeping closely against their moms at night, Swoozie goat playing Queen of the Mountain on top of the goat playground, Susie Moo flirting with the steers in the cattle herd – it’s difficult to imagine what would have become of them had they not been rescued.

Officer Stosuy filed charges against the slaughterhouse owner on four counts – three pertaining to animal neglect and one to an "inhumane" slaughter that he had witnessed. Two of the counts specifically addressed a pair of severely ill and emaciated goats we had rescued, one of whom was a downer and, despite our efforts to bring her back to health, passed away shortly after her rescue.

Though legal proceedings were delayed for a year and a half, the trial against the owner of the slaughterhouse finally occurred this month, and I was called to testify on behalf of the animals we rescued. Faced with the prosecution’s expert witnesses and seeing that we were not backing down, the defendant pled guilty to the two counts concerning our goats. His only punishment, however, was to pay restitution, and he was found not guilty of "inhumane" slaughter.

Still, we are thankful that Officer Stosuy and the prosecutor pursued justice and gave our rescued animals a voice. It is unusual for a case like this to be brought to trial – and to the public’s attention – at all. The court’s leniency demonstrates how much further legal protection for farm animals has to go, but seeing how far the survivors have come will teach so many about the abuse farm animals suffer and the happiness they are capable of knowing when treated with kindness.

Pictured above: Mother and son survivors Annie and Hal, living happily at Farm Sanctuary.

Friendship without Boundaries

 

by Leanne

Sweet Pea goose arrived at the California Shelter in 2005 with nine other goose friends. Having together endured countless acts of violence at the hands of abusers in a public park, the group was very tight knit. Even after being introduced to our resident goose flock, Sweet Pea and her friends were never far apart from one another. After waking up and eating their breakfast, the group would head down to the ponds to spend the rest of their day swimming, napping and taking an occasional midday jaunt to join the pigs for a snack. At the end of the day they would head back up the hill to their hutches for dinner before settling in for the night.

A couple years after she came to Farm Sanctuary, however, Sweet Pea surprised us by striking up an unlikely friendship with two Pekin ducks, Boris and Harry. The three became inseparable, and Sweet Pea took leave of her goose group to spend her days swimming and lounging with the boys. Eventually she even changed her nighttime routine to conclude at the gate to the ducks’ hutch, where she would stand demanding we let her sleep in their company. She continued to visit with her old goose friends, but her society of choice was definitely Boris and Harry.

Unfortunately, Harry later developed an infection in his bone that inhibited his ability to walk. To allow him easier access to a pond, we moved him and Boris to one of our hospital areas, where our special needs ducks live, at the beginning of the year. Although sad to see her friends go, Sweet Pea took the change in stride and blended back in with her goose comrades. But her love for Pekin ducks didn’t stop there.

This past month several Pekins who we rescued as ducklings became old enough to move in with the main duck and goose flocks. For the first week we kept them in a smaller yard with a pond, so they could become more familiar with the area. Because the Pekins did not mingle with the resident flocks, Sweet Pea seemed to take no notice of them and went about her daily routine with her usual friends. But this all changed once the newcomers were given access to the rest of the yard and the larger ponds. The first day they were released to go exploring Sweet Pea was right there to greet them and join their flock. Her feeling of kinship toward Pekins was apparent as she and the ducks talked to each other and bonded. And of course that night she was standing at the gate to their hutch demanding to be let in.

At first the ducks were wary of heading down the hill to the big ponds, a space larger than they had ever known in their lives, but the next morning, after sleeping beside Sweet Pea, they trustingly followed her into their wide new world. The group hardly left the water the entire day.

Who knows why Sweet Pea has such a fondness for Pekin ducks, but her actions show that love and friendship have no boundaries.

Animal Photo of the Week

 
  
We know how much you love animal photos – that’s why we’re really excited to announce a new "Sanctuary Tails" feature that’ll bring you more of the images you adore! Starting now, we’ll be posting an "Animal Photo of the Week" to spotlight the special individuals who call our New York and California Shelters home. Farm Sanctuary is honored to have many talented photographers in our midst and look forward to sharing their work with you here.

Today’s photo comes from Connie Pugh – a wonderful volunteer who has been lovingly documenting life at our California Shelter for several years. In honor of our efforts to encourage people to sponsor turkeys for Thanksgiving through our Adopt-A-Turkey Project, pictured here is Charlie, one of our newest feathered friends at our West Coast sanctuary. Recently rescued from a factory farm, this little peep thankfully got the second chance at life he deserved. Read more about Charlie and his friends here.

With a Little Help From My Friend

 

by Susie

Fortune has not always been a friend to Muck Muck, but mere mortals have done their best to fill in. And one particular little mortal has turned out to be the best friend Muck Muck could want.

The first person to do Muck Muck a favor was the one who rescued this Pekin duck from the side of the road in Tennessee. Pekins, a domestic breed used most often for meat and sometimes kept as companions, are not equipped to survive in the wild. White feathers and bright orange bills make them easy prey, unlike wild ducks whose coloring is more a match to their surroundings. Although we don’t know all the facts about Muck Muck’s origin or the history of his escape or abandonment, it was apparent from his severe wounds that he had a run in with a dog or some other predator. He has since recovered from most of his injuries, but the trauma to his eyes was so critical that he was rendered permanently blind.

Rescued but unclaimed, Muck Muck needed a safe haven. Initially, an adopter stepped up and offered the duck a home, but later she had to move and was worried that she could no longer give Muck Muck the special care he needed.

With Muck Muck’s future uncertain, his adopter turned to us. We were happy to welcome the duck to our shelter and, equipped with our extensive experience caring for special needs animals, immediately set about making him as comfortable as we could. But something still would have been missing if not for Nellie.

The two met at the home of their adopter, and Nellie too came bearing the scars of a violent past. She was rescued from a farm in Connecticut where she had lived with 30 to 40 other geese, most of them male. This is a dangerous and unfair situation in which to keep a female goose. The stress of repeated mountings by male geese damaged her spine, causing her neck to be bent downwards permanently. Nellie now has a neck contorted into a sideways S, which forces her to hold her head only a few inches above the ground. Leg injuries from the same cause left her with a stumbling gait. When we took her in, we knew that we couldn’t integrate her into our goose flock because of the risk of further injury from additional mountings by our male geese. We established her instead in a special needs flock of ducks, where she could rest and wander in peace beside a small pond.

So Muck Muck and Nellie, two animals who seemed in no condition to help even themselves, discovered they could help each other. Unable to know the companionship of other geese, Nellie found a companion in Muck Muck. The gallant duck stays close to her and, despite his own disability, is very protective. Nellie looks out for Muck Muck too, guiding him with calls when he has trouble navigating.

These are amazing birds. I don’t know how she does it, but Nellie has figured out ways to do all the normal goose things. When she first came to us, I doubted she would be able to swim — in fact, I worried about what would happen if she tried. But Nellie has worked out how to keep her head above water. She can groom herself; eat from her feeder; and even graze, a feat she cleverly manages by tearing up leaves and forming a pile from which she feeds with greater ease than she could by trying to nibble greens directly from the ground. She has been seen by doctors at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals, and they assure us that although the condition is permanent it is not painful.

Muck Muck has also learned to cope. He has become confident at finding his way by sound, and though unexpected noises or contact still distress him, he can handle them once he overcomes his panic and stops to listen.

He listens most carefully at dusk. When it is time to go to bed, Nellie’s calls lead him to her side, where he sleeps every night. Like we see so often with farm animals, these two birds have adapted admirably to the deficiencies of their bodies. And they have each other, which seems to make life worth living. No healthy duck or goose, or human, could quite supply the missing piece for Muck Muck or Nellie, because it is what each lacks that allows him or her so aptly, and with such graciousness, to fulfill the need of the other. We feel so lucky to have them in our lives and so happy that they found each other.