The story of Calf 1578 on a US dairy farm highlights the importance of supporters in protecting animals. The calf ultimately died after suffering for three days on a concrete floor with frozen hooves and no food or water.
Lying on a concrete floor with dirty uniforms piled high beside him, Calf 1578 sat upright as he exhaustedly watched the coming and going of Summit Calf Ranch employees. Dried blood painted the floor behind him.
For three days, this calf was unable to stand, his hooves painfully separating from his legs after freezing in the harsh Nebraska winter. With no food or water, the chances of recovery were slim to none.
And on the fourth day, Calf 1578 was shot and killed.
As a former undercover investigator of many years, I’m often asked why I’ve chosen to oversee investigations at Animal Equality. The answer is simple: it is for Calf 1578.
It is for all the calves trapped in Tuls Dairy’s facilities, like Summit Calf Ranch, separated from their mothers within thirty minutes of birth. Then housed in thin plastic huts in subzero temperatures.
It is for the calves left to suffer from deadly illnesses in a makeshift “hospital”—or former laundry room—where they will remain without veterinary care until their deaths.
It is for the solidly frozen calves left in dead piles, lying in their own feces without having experienced even a moment of affection.
I do it for the calves who suffer so humans can eat tiny wheels of Babybel cheese this facility helps produce.
Each day, I’m conscious of how powerful the dairy industry is. With billions of dollars at its disposal, it has successfully deceived consumers into believing its products are cruelty-free. But each day I fight for Calf 1578, who gives me the will to continue exposing these lies.
And I couldn’t have done it without the core of this organization: our monthly donors.
Monthly donors are the reason Animal Equality’s investigators exposed another dairy farm – Madox Farms, in South Wales – for its shocking abuse of mother and baby cows. Madox Farms supplies renown companies like Costa Coffee and British Airways.
They’re the reason this investigation was featured on a BBC Panorama program, drawing millions of viewers, a Twitter storm, and countless plant-based commitments across the UK.
And monthly donors are the reason one dairy farm worker received a prison sentence for animal cruelty in 2017. This was the result of yet another investigation at a separate family-run facility in Somerset, England.
Calf 1578 would have died in vain if it wasn’t for our monthly donors. This baby cow would have been forgotten by the world, never to see the kind face of an undercover investigator.
That is why monthly donors are the most powerful force this movement has in its fight against animal cruelty.
This is your moment. You have an opportunity to join this force.
By becoming a monthly donor, you’ll provide investigators with the equipment they need to do their jobs, the plane tickets needed to get them there, and the immense volume of resources needed for investigations like these, which could last months at a time.
You’ll support investigations which will make headlines at New York Times, CNN, and other top-tier news outlets. And you’ll open the public’s eyes to the suffering happening both worldwide and in our own backyards.
Take a moment and envision a world where those who harm innocent animals will answer for their crimes.
Imagine a world where mother cows can nurture their vulnerable babies, who will finally receive the affection they long for.
That’s the kind of world you’ll create.
Give a donation on behalf of animals like Calf 1578. By becoming a monthly donor to Animal Equality, you can help to support our investigations and expose the cruelty of the dairy industry. You can help to create a world where animals are treated with kindness and compassion, and where their lives are valued. Join the fight against animal cruelty and become a monthly donor to Animal Equality today.
Will you keep me, and all of Animal Equality’s investigators, in the field?
Try plant-based alternatives in your next meal!
Cows are intelligent creatures who are able to express a range of cognitive abilities and emotions such as fear, anxiety, and happiness. All of these traits prove that cows are far more intelligent than many people realize. By simply choosing plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs, you are denouncing the suffering of farmed animals every single day.