Goodbye Sweet Dahliah & Clayton
Place humans, animals and money together and nothing good will ever come of it.
Never a truer phrase was ever spoken. Humans have an uncanny ability to see profit in everything they touch. On occasions this may be a good thing, but mainly it sees the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the animals abused!
We speak of all things animal related. It may be "entertainment" such as circuses, elephant rides, camel rides. All avenues for the perpetrators to beat animals into submission to act as they wish, before conning tourists out of money to have "fun" with supposed happy, tame wild beasts.
Gambling entertainment. We all know of the main crux; horse and greyhound racing. Again, animals bred to existence purely to be forced into a life to make money for their "owners" and trainers. Animals bred in far too greater numbers than warrants track availability. Therefore, thousands upon thousands of animals who do not "make the cut" are ruthlessly killed and disposed of as wastage.
Then, there is the industry that beats them all, the industry that Furever Farm deals closely with. We speak of the animal agriculture industry. This industry brings to life animals by the trillions worldwide, all for the sole purpose of killing for profit. Listen to any farmer within this industry and you will be told that they do not make money, they struggle to make ends meet year after year. Let us tell you that if this was the case, we would see millions of farmer going bust and an industry on it's knees. You will also hear the familiar rant that "farmers love their animals".
Again, industry spin to appease the masses and actually make some farmers feel okay with what they are doing. Don't get us wrong, some farmers will treat the animals in their possession well. But, remember that this has absolutely nothing to do with love, and everything to do with achieving top dollar off of living beings that they class as objects. It's really simple maths.
For the past 5 or so years South Australia has suffered through drought. The rains have been minimal, aside from a few light reprieves. Especially the past 2 years we have seen unprecedented lack of rainfall throughout the state, drying up the earth to parched cracking soil.
Essentials such as hay and grains, both for humans and animal feed, have dwindled by proportion to healthy seasons. With next to no feed reaching the animals that "farmers love" you would expect that breeding would be kept to a minimum. But, still they breed. You see, they don't want the animals in case things remain parlous, but they want the animals in case things improve.
This year we have seen an extra influx of sick animals reach our care. This relates to their beginning of life. Poor nutrition for their mums passes directly onto baby when born. Then, with no milk, or at least minimal to offer their offspring, the babies suffer or die. The animal agriculture industry is THE prime example of humans meet animals meet money. Nothing good comes of it.
Recently we had two particular cases of babies subjected to pain at the hands of the breeding farmer. A little lamb we named "Dahliah" and a beautiful calf named "Clayton". Both of these poor souls echoed the travesty that is human neglect.
One may argue that some neglect is unknown. We argue that as soon as one decides to breed an animal they have a responsibility, in fact that responsibility begins prior to conception. Let us briefly tell you of the upsetting tale of these two precious souls.
Dahliah was a lambs that became lost. The luckiest thing that could happen to Dahliah were to be found, rescued and given a chance at life. This would occur, but no soon had her luck changed for the better than her worst nightmare would be realised. Dahliah would go from a two day old lamb walking and acting out her innocence to a lamb who could not stand, let alone take a much sought after step.
Her cognitive abilities would remain intact, seeing her frustrated as she attempted to, once again, take those steps of life. Before long, Dahliah's ability to hold her head straight would waver, as her body became that of a ragdoll. As she was fed well and showered with love at the sanctuary she would be vet checked and bloods taken to gain insight into what was responsible for her condition. With an almighty thud both Dahliah's and our world would plummet to depressing low.
Dahliah's body was shutting down. Her organs were failing as blood results confirmed extraordinary numbers that simply could not be fixed. Whilst Dahliah was not experiencing pain nor suffering now, before long she would as her organs failed. The reason for Dahliah's condition? Poor nutrition from a sickly mother, bred into uncompromising conditions in a farming property out North. The reason for continued breeding? You guessed it, money. With no alternative but to do what true love demanded, and respect given in due, Dahliah would be euthanased at a mere week or so old. A death sentence provided instantly by an industry that thrives on killing.
The really sad thing that we know, and have been told, is that farmers do not care about lambs this year. They will still breed them, but should a baby be sick, injured or lose a mum the farmers will simply leave the baby to die. It is a sad and unflinching practice in lack of morals.
Clayton would come to the sanctuary 7 days old. A beautiful Hereford calf, he would instantly claim hearts, as calves do. But, Clayton was not well, He was desperately underweight, not suckling the bottle and lethargic through lack of energy. Occasionally we all get sick. It is unavoidable.
But, Clayton's condition had nothing to do with natural ills. Rather, he too was born unto a herd that was struggling due to lack of feed, and lack of quality. Mother's were not producing milk, such was their own suffering condition. Therefore, babies were not fed naturally as mum's walked away unable to satisfy their much loved calves. In this instance, responsibility falls to the farmer, or breeding individual. They must be both prepared to artificially feed and have the skills and knowledge to do so. In Clayton's case, he would be betrayed on both counts.
In the 7 long days since birth and his arrival at Furever Farm, Clayton had not tasted a single drop of milk, had even one feed. This, in itself, is a death sentence, and vets would later say that they were astounded that Clayton remained alive. Upon arrival we would ask the human what formula they were using and when Clayton was last fed. To be told that they only attempted feed once in 7 days, unsuccessfully, absolutely dumbfounded us. How was this poor baby still walking? Then, to be asked if, upon us getting Clayton back on his healthy feet, they could take him back blew our minds! Of course, this was never going to happen.
Clayton's journey with us would be difficult. With totally no knowledge of suckling, Clayton did not know how to drink. His stomach would have been shrunk to minimal proportions and the sickly feeling he must have been going through beggars belief. It would take syringes of formular a bit at a time to get Clayton to begin swallowing. Then, we would move onto having him suckle on the large syringe. Just when all seemed lost, we would have success! Guiding the drinking bottle with proper teat into Clayton's mouth saw his suckle! Finally, Clayton was getting the feel of a replacement for his mumma, and accepting the taste of his milk. Oh, the joy of a boy that, still lacking energy due to his bad start, was finally beginning to show positive results. But, our excitement would be short lived as, in less than 24 hours, Clayton would crash to a deadly demise.
Like Dahliah, Clayton's beginning was simply too harsh. His infant body, starved with neglect in his first week of life, could simply not recover. His organs, too, would shut down. But sadly, there would be no vet within distance for Clayton, as we sat with, hugged him, and guided him to eternal sleep.
Both Dahliah and Clayton were victims of the same industry, merely different species. An industry that knows of them as objects, commodities, money making machines. Where was the 'farmer's love" for Dahliah or Clayton? You see, this is how they "love" their animals. It further highlights how humans, animals and money can never be a positive or good thing. There is nothing but crassness in greed. And, greedy one must be to place their livelihood over the life of a feeling sentient being. Put simply, it is an appalling industry, one that we deal with on a daily basis.
We dedicate this telling of story to Dahliah and Clayton. Their tales simply must be told, even in the briefest sense. Stories such as this are just a tip of the iceberg as thousands, millions, trillions of others suffer the same fate, or worse.
We remember Dahliah and Clayton with all the love they deserve. We will never forget them, for they were sentient, and they are someone, not something.
Please consider supporting our work so we can help more animals like Clayton & Dahlia. We rely entirely on donations & gifts and truly appreciate your help!
