When six starving male Holstein Calves Matter

Watkins Glen, NY – Six starving male Holstein calves ranging from two days to two weeks old, found on a Pottsville farm in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania — three cruelly tethered to a tractor, the rest left to die in a garage — were rescued last night by Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization. The “owner” of the severely neglected calves signed over legal custody of the animals to the nonprofit organization and charges are pending further investigation.

The neglect came to light when the Hillside SPCA received a call from a concerned woman who lives near the farm and had witnessed the animals suffering. When Humane Officer Denise Turkavage arrived on the scene, all but one of the calves were unable to stand, and all six were pale and appeared to be anemic. All had sunken in eyes showing severe dehydration and all were extremely weak. The starving male calves, who are considered to be of little to no value to the dairy industry and are often killed shortly after birth or sent into veal production, had been deprived of the vital nutrients that are usually passed through the mother’s milk to the baby during the first week of life, and they would have died within hours had the Hillside SPCA and Farm Sanctuary not intervened.

Officer Turkavage immediately contacted Farm Sanctuary, which dispatched rescuers to meet her at a halfway point between Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and the organization’s shelter in upstate New York to pick up the calves. “It was heartbreaking to see the callous disregard with which these calves were treated,” said Officer Turkavage. “We are grateful to the good Samaritan who reported this horrific case of cruelty and to Farm Sanctuary for helping us out with these boys. Calves are not something we deal with everyday, and I don’t know what we’d have done if it hadn’t been for them.”

Due to their dire condition, the calves were administered emergency electrolytes while in transit to Cornell University Animal Hospital, where they received urgent medical attention. The two older calves, who were a bit stronger, were able to be rehydrated and sent back to Farm Sanctuary that night. Once their condition improves, the four remaining days old calves will be safely transported to Farm Sanctuary’s shelter, where they will continue to receive round-the-clock rehabilitative care and an abundance of nourishing food and affection.

We are so thankful we were able to rescue these babies and prevent them from having to suffer one minute longer than they already have,” said Farm Sanctuary’s National Shelter Director Susie Coston. “That someone would tie infant calves to a tractor and leave them to starve to death is almost unthinkable, yet tragedies like this are an all too common result of a profit-driven industry that measures the value of a life in terms of the gallons it can produce. We are hopeful these four boys will pull through, but right now, their lives are hanging in the balance.

The calves will remain at Farm Sanctuary’s New York Shelter in Watkins Glen until placed in a permanent home, where they will grow up out of harm’s way. Nearly 3,000 farm animals have found loving homes through the nonprofit’s Farm Animal Adoption Network since 1986. Compassionate persons interested in adopting a farm animal in need are invited to visit farmsanctuary.org and fill out an application.

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 Orlando, 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. Additional information can be found at farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.