Post by vspindler on Jun 8, 2016 19:41:30 GMT
A good friend of mine volunteers at a sanctuary for farm animals. They have summer camps there and have kids work with this animals, including leading some of the larger ones, like the donkeys, around with halters. I have gone out there with her a couple of times.
The sanctuary has a yearling heifer (young cow) and a steer (male but with testicles removed). I don't know if the male came to them "fixed" but they decided not to remove the horns from either of them because it was "cruel." Except now they have two large animals that are getting larger that have horns. They wanted to have campers walk them around on the halters. My friend was in the pasture with them the other day, because they are generally rather friendly, but the male started getting aggressive with her. Thankfully she grew up on a farm and knew not to turn her back and was able to distract him with carrots while she backed out of the gate.
Common sense and insurance liability would, I have thought, made it rather obvious that to have animals that weigh hundreds of pounds (more like tons when fully grown) that have horns that have been trained to run up to you thinking they will get treats, would fall under the heading of "bad ideas". I highly doubt that they will be able to do what they want with those two, simply because of the horns.
One of the other volunteers was pretty annoyed that the folks in charge wouldn't listen to those of them who knew that type of animal well. Thank goodness the male is fixed or they could have learned a *very* hard lesson about testosterone and horns.
I know why they wouldnt want to remove the horns, but it makes me shake my head that a group that cares so much about animals is also so clueless.
The sanctuary has a yearling heifer (young cow) and a steer (male but with testicles removed). I don't know if the male came to them "fixed" but they decided not to remove the horns from either of them because it was "cruel." Except now they have two large animals that are getting larger that have horns. They wanted to have campers walk them around on the halters. My friend was in the pasture with them the other day, because they are generally rather friendly, but the male started getting aggressive with her. Thankfully she grew up on a farm and knew not to turn her back and was able to distract him with carrots while she backed out of the gate.
Common sense and insurance liability would, I have thought, made it rather obvious that to have animals that weigh hundreds of pounds (more like tons when fully grown) that have horns that have been trained to run up to you thinking they will get treats, would fall under the heading of "bad ideas". I highly doubt that they will be able to do what they want with those two, simply because of the horns.
One of the other volunteers was pretty annoyed that the folks in charge wouldn't listen to those of them who knew that type of animal well. Thank goodness the male is fixed or they could have learned a *very* hard lesson about testosterone and horns.
I know why they wouldnt want to remove the horns, but it makes me shake my head that a group that cares so much about animals is also so clueless.
Just adding that in case any Captain Obviouses feel the need to weigh in to tell me that cows are nothing like rhinos. This IS the peas, after all. 
