Baby Cows Saved From a Pharmaceutical Lab Are Learning to Love (PHOTOS)

In today’s society, babies, at least human ones, are given utmost priority. Mothers are given maternity leave so that babies can start their lives with as much attention and care as possible. Babies are raised and heralded as “the future,” part of a group who will hopefully be wiser, kinder, and better for the world than the generation before them. And of course, they are given all of the care they need to grow up strong and healthy. Sadly, the reality for babies born into the world of animal agriculture is much, much different. Take calves for example. In the dairy industry, these animals are ripped away from their mothers soon after birth so that they do not consume any of their mother’s precious milk (that’s for humans, after all). From here, if the calf is a female, she is moved and set up to follow the footsteps of her mother and become a dairy cow. If the calf is a male, he is transported to the meat industry where he will either be sold as veal or raised for a few more weeks and killed for beef.

Not every single calf lives out one of these two scenarios, though. Two three-day-old calves who were recently rescued by New Life Animal Sanctuary, for example, were actually transferred to pharmaceutical laboratories shortly after birth. They were going to be used for their blood and then discarded promptly after. Thankfully, these calves were rescued and taken to New Life Animal Sanctuary through the “Life After Labs” program.

When the two calves, now named Zeus and Hayden, arrived at the sanctuary, they were in major need of medical attention. Zeus arrived very weak with diarrhea and was having difficulty breathing. 

Hayden was in better shape but still needed to be monitored closely. After all, these babies were just days old, Hayden’s umbilical cord was still attached! 

Sanctuary staffers and the emergency vet who was called in did everything to make sure these calves felt as comfortable as possible. 

In addition to medicine, this meant plenty of cuddles and kisses! 

Considering how traumatic life has already been for these calves, they need as much emotional Support as possible.

As rough as the next weeks may be, goodness knows these calves are in a much better place and in much kinder hands.

Cows are intelligent, emotional, and affectionate creatures that are a lot like the beloved dogs of our society. They might not be as tiny as pups and they might not be able to sit on your lap, but they deserve just as much respect as our domesticated pets. Thanks to this kind sanctuary and the Life After Labs program, these two calves will have a chance that many cows are not granted: to live in a haven where they will be able to flourish and reveal the beautiful personalities they surely have. We wish these two the best.

All image source: New Life Animal Sanctuary/Facebook