Vegetarian farmer donates cow herd to animal sanctuary and saves it from abattoir
Vegetarian farmer Jay Wilde decided to send his cows to an animal sanctuary to live out their days, in a gesture of pure kindness.
The 59 cows – 30 of them being pregnant – left their old cattle sheds at Bradley Nook Farm in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and were repositioned in Norfolk at the Hillside Animal Sanctuary on Monday.
Their owner has been a vegetarian for 25 years and strongly believes that it is “very difficult to do your best to look after them and then send them to the slaughterhouse for what must be a terrifying death”, as he told the Times. His brother-in-law called him “absolutely insane” to donate the cows.
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After Wilde’s father died in 2011, then-59-year-old took over the business of farming, according to the Independent.
He made the change from producing dairy goods to organic beef. However, he wanted to clear his conscience and stop profiting from sending his cows to the slaughter house. “I’m relieved to have made the decision to no longer farm animals, something which I always found quite upsetting,” Wilde said. “Cows have good memories and a range of emotions. They form relationships. I’ve even seen them cry.”
The herd would be worth £40,000 on the market. They will join the sanctuary’s 300 cattle and 2,000 horses, ponies and donkeys.
Wilde kept ten cows as pets.
Wendy Valentine, the founder of the sanctuary, said Wilde’s cattle have the possibility to enjoy their full 25-year lifespans instead of living two or three years and being slaughtered after.
The sanctuary was started in 1995 and needs to raise at least £5m per year to continue to care for the animals.
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