We Work WITH Farmers
From All-Creatures.org Animal Rights/Vegan Activist Strategies Articles Archive

FROM Luella Botteon, 'Til The Cows Come Home
August 2020

Before ‘Til The Cows Come Home was established there were no foster carers or a rehoming system for farmed animals. Farmers who had animals that were unviable or that they no longer wanted would generally resort to culling these animals, the only viable option.

till the cows come home

Before our organisation, ‘Til The Cows Come Home, was established there were no foster carers or a rehoming system for farmed animals. Farmers who had animals that were unviable or that they no longer wanted would generally resort to culling these animals, the only viable option. Farmers are earning a living, like you and me, and generally, they cannot afford to keep all animals they rear, for example, male calves born into the dairy industry are deemed waste products and therefore have no monetary value for farmers. This is one of the factors as to why our organisation has emerged, to fill this gap. We are the solution for farmers who want a better life for the animals that are deemed unviable.

We are here to work with farmers! Our mission is to be the bridge between farmers and animal lovers across Australia, helping both farmers and the animals they rear.

Since our organisation was founded, we have built many great relationships with farmers, which has made the grand number of rehomings we do, possible. Our relationships with farmers are mutually beneficial, as they get to see the unviable animals collected to have a new life, and we get to rehome these animals into furever homes as much-loved pets.

Are you wondering how exactly we work with farmers? Continue reading to find out!

As mentioned already, the realities of a dairy farmer are that the male calves born are deemed waste products. This is because dairy farmers require female calves to continue producing milk. Instead of these male calves being culled, farmers can now call us to come and collect them, as well as any other unwanted animals on their property. Once collected, we take these animals to one of our foster homes that are specifically designed holding stations to care for these animals while they wait for us to find them their perfect adoption match. While in our care, the calves will receive vet care as needed, and our foster carers will prepare the calves for adoption, such as training the calves to bottle feed from a human and to feel comfortable on a harness. Then once adopted these calves begin their new and final journey of being beloved pets and family members.

Like the dairy industry, egg farms also have hens who are deemed unviable. When hens reach 18 months old, they are no longer deemed viable. This is because when hens reach that age their egg production decreases by approximately 50% and are therefore no longer viable to a farmer’s business. However, hens can live a wonderful life up to the age of 10 years old, meaning when these hens become unviable in the egg farms, they still have a lot of life and love left to give. This is where we come in. Again, egg farmers will call us and ask us to collect these hens. We can collect any number of hens, from only a couple of hens to a couple of thousand, to tens of thousands. No number is too little or too many, we are here to help you and your hens! Once collected, like the calves, we take the hens to one of our holding stations and prepare them for their new lives as furever pets.

We do this for all farmed animals, we have no restrictions on the species of animals we will help. And we do this for farmed animals across Australia!

Some farmers contact us for a one-off collection of their unwanted animals, and other farmers contact us weekly to collect. Either way, we love to help relieve the pressure of having unwanted animals. We also appreciate everyone’s privacy and if you so wish can remain anonymous. Many farmers prefer this and work with us to save on costs and save the anguish of killing unnecessarily.

Are you wondering how the animals are then adopted? We are so proud of our sophisticated screening process for our adoptions. Adoptions can occur from all over Australia, and all online, making us not only the largest online farmed animal adoption organisation but also very efficient.

‘Til The Cows Come Home is proud to provide a consistent and reliable supply chain for all farmers who need our support. Working with farmers has allowed us to rehome thousands of farmed animals Australia wide and we’re just getting started! We are the solution to the dreaded decision of having to cull much-loved animals.

If you need our help, let us do what we do best, contact us now by sending us a private message today. We are here with you!


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