Farm Sanctuary rescues goats

They have done it again. The staff and volunteers at the Farm Sanctuary shelter in Orland took in 12 goats last week that were rescued from a Santa Cruz County slaughterhouse.

This is the second time this year the sanctuary has given a home to allegedly neglected or abused livestock from the Watsonville area.

The sanctuary received the goats on May 6 from  Santa Cruz County Animal Control Services officials following their confiscation by Animal Control Officer Todd Stosuy on May 1.

These goats include two does, each with a set of twin kids, eight to 12-weeks old, and a pregnant goat that should have her kid within a month or so, according to Carolyn Mullin, events coordinator for Farm Sanctuary in Orland.

There also is a non-ambulatory doe that is unable to stand or walk at this point, she said, and that goat is receiving medical treatment to see if she can be rehabilitated. And there is an older doe that is in poor condition as well.

These animals are in an isolation barn at the sanctuary farm, but they will eventually be integrated into its herd of 18 other goats once they recover, Mullin said. Their hooves were trimmed on May 7, and some appear to be feeling better.

From the road, Stosuy reportedly noticed a cow at the Watsonville facility with a bloody horn and initiated an investigation, Sanctuary officials said.
Stosuy said that in addition to the injured cow, he allegedly found 12 ill, malnurished goats with overgrown and rotted hooves along with several other animals who would have died if he hadn't intervened.

He returned to the Watsonville facility on May 3 and seized eight more goats and a sheep whose conditions had allegedly deteriorated since his last visit.

Farm Sanctuary's shelters and Stosuy's agency are arranging for placement of these animals.

Stosuy also reportedly told Sanctuary officials the rescued animals were either acquired by the auction owner or raised on the property for slaughter for local customers who would pick an animal and have it slaughtered there.

"It is not only sad and frustrating to know these animals endured such neglect, but also alarming that these sick animals were destined for someone's dinner table,'' said Leanne Cronquist, shelter manager for Farm Sanctuary in Orland.

She added "After the rampant abuse the public saw at the Chino slaughterhouse earlier this year - followed by a massive beef recall - as well as the abuse Farm Sanctuary investigators have witnessed at large and small facilities alike, it's clear that animal cruelty in agriculture is systemic.''

Cronquist said fortunately,  these animals will now get the care they deserve and won't have to face the brutal end that awaited them if they had not been saved.

Stosuy told Farm Sanctuary officials the Watsonville slaughterhouse has a feedlot still holding about 70 animals, and it is being investigated by the California State Department of Agriculture.

However, CSDA representatives say so far they have found no public health threats at the Watsonville property despite the sick animals and non-ambulatory goat found there, a Sanctuary press release said.

Stosuy also said the Santa Cruz County Environmental Health Department will be sending its own representative to the facility, too.

He has filed cruelty charges against the facility's owner for allegedly holding a downer animal (an animal too sick or injured to stand) with no food, water or veterinary care, according to Farm Sanctuary officials.

In February, the Orland facility also took in a Hereford-cross cow and calf  taken by Stosuy from a Watsonville ranch, after he allegedly found the calf sick and lying in a muddy pasture.

Both the cow and calf were seized, and they are now known as "Loretta'' and "Harrison'' at the sanctuary.

Santa Cruz County Animal Control staff also brought a Holstein calf named "Cupid'' to Orland in February as well after he fell off a truck bound for a slaughterhouse near Turlock.

Cupid ran into an orchard and was later rescued and transported to Santa Cruz. Then he was brought to Orland.

Farm Sanctuary staff say farm animals are specifically excluded from the Federal Animal Welfare Act, and few laws exist nationwide to protect farm animals from abuse.

As a result, they are promoting the passage in California of the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act on the November ballot. If approved, this measure would eliminate some of the most restrictive confinement practices in the farm animal industry such as veal crates for calves, battery cages for egg-laying hens and gestation crates for breeding pigs.

Farm Sanctuary has co-sponsored this proposed legislation with the Humane Society of the United States.

There also is current federal legislation pending that would prohibit downed animals from going to slaughter (H.R. Bill 661 and Senate Bill  394) and require their immediate and humane euthanasia if they are non-ambulatory.

Farm Sanctuary is located on a 300-acre farm in the rolling hills of Tehama County across from Black Butte Lake.

Visitors will eventually be able to see these rescued animals on Saturdays through October when the shelter gives public tours.

For more information, call 865-4617 or go to its Newville Road farm eight miles west of Orland.