Calf Escapes Butcher And Is Raised By Deer Herd In Snowy Forest

Jul 01, 2020

In 2018, a baby cow that escaped the slaughterhouse found safety and comfort with a herd of deer in New York. After being on the run for nearly a year, Bonnie the cow is now a resident at Farm Sanctuary.

A then four-month-old calf Bonnie spent the first few months of her life on a farm in Holland, New York. When Bonnie’s owner died, his family decided to sell his livestock to a local slaughterhouse.

As Bonnie and the rest of the herd were loaded onto trucks, Bonnie made a break for it and ran into the woods.

After Bonnie’s escape, the people of Holland kept their eyes peeled to see if they caught the calf wandering around. Although some residents caught a short glimpse of her, no one was able to capture her.

Part of what kept little Bonnie hidden was the three feet of snow that blanketed Holland that winter.

Although hearing of Bonnie around town, Holland resident Becky Bartels never saw the little creature until she started appearing on her trail cameras, which she uses to take photos of deer.

Looking through the photos on the camera’s memory card, Becky was shocked to see that Bonnie had been adopted by a local herd of deer. As both cows and deer are herd animals, the deer provided Bonnie with a sense of community and protection as she spent the winter in the woods.

Becky became determined to help young Bonnie. Each day at the crack of dawn, Becky went out to the woods to feed the little cow. Bonnie nevertheless remained fearful of her would-be rescuer.

With her neighbors encouraging her to put Bonnie down, Becky contacted Farm Sanctuary, a nonprofit organization that helps abused and neglected farm animals, for aid.

Farm Sanctuary sent an entire team out to help Bonnie. The group was led by Susan Coston, the organization’s shelter director. Speaking with Farm Sanctuary, Susan said that their primary goal was to bring Bonnie to their New York shelter in Watkins Glen in a way that wouldn’t scare the young cow.

Susan stressed that if they did anything to upset Bonnie, she might bolt and go somewhere where they would not be able to help her.

Susan and her team set up a corral in the woods outside of Becky’s house. As Susan explained, the corral would enable Becky to feed Bonnie while also giving them the opportunity to catch her in a humane way.

On their first attempt, the team struck out. Bonnie could sense that something was different and walked back into the woods.

For their second attempt, Susan spoke with a veterinarian, who gave the group a mild sedative to put Bonnie to sleep. Although Bonnie took the sedative in her food, it wasn’t strong enough and the young cow once again escaped into the woods.

The next day, Susan used a much stronger dose and was able to successfully put Bonnie into a waiting trailer.

Bonnie hit the jackpot in living at Farm Sanctuary. In addition to human caretakers who make sure that she has everything that she needs, Bonnie now roams freely with other cows.

In the end, Bonnie’s story shows that animals have a desire to live and be happy. Through the efforts of Becky and Farm Sanctuary, Bonnie can live out her days in a humane way.

What do you think of Bonnie’s story? What would you have done if you were in Becky’s place? Let us know in the comments and pass this along to your friends and family.