Help for Anemone and Honda

Anemone and Honda should be allowed to live on.

Foreword:

We at the Foundation for Farm Animals have made it our mission to give animals from livestock farming a second life without further utilisation by humans. We create species-appropriate living spaces for these usually very unfortunate animals by reorganising existing livestock farms into animal-friendly boarding facilities in accordance with our guidelines.

With your support, we have the opportunity to take in two more cows and finance them until their natural end of life. Please help us to enable these two wonderful creatures to live on. Thank you very much!

The story:

A family of mountain farmers in the Bernese Oberland (mountain zones 3 & 4) reached out to us with a heartfelt request to take in their two cows, Anemone and Honda.

Both cows suffer from an udder infection called «Streptococcus uberis», which unfortunately has no 100% cure. S.uberis is an environmental pathogen that infects cows primarily through contact with their barn environment or damp pastures. When infected, the cows’ milk becomes unusable, both now and in the future, which would usually lead to slaughter on a dairy farm.

Anemone and Honda were supposed to join the other cows in the Alps. However, due to their mastitis and the fact that they are not allowed to be milked on the Alps, they must remain on the farm in the tie stall.

The two cows have not been «economically viable» for some time due to their illness. As this persistent pathogen can only be treated to a limited extent with medication, it settles in the udder and contaminates the milk flow. For the farmer, this means that he can no longer allow the affected cows to become pregnant, as cows only produce milk when a calf is born. Currently, the cows are no longer being impregnated so that their milk flow is completely stopped. The pathogen is not transmissible from cow to cow or from cow to human.

Anemone and Honda are very dear to the family, and they are determined to leave no stone unturned to give them a few more good years on a farm. After all, if there are no more demands for their use, the two cows can easily enjoy many happy retirement years together.

Before contacting us, the family unfortunately received only negative responses from other known sanctuaries and retirement farms. If no place is found for the cows, a trip to the butcher is unfortunately unavoidable.

We cannot simply say NO just because we do not currently have the financial resources for such emergencies.

As a foundation, we have a duty and a responsibility towards such requests, where it is literally a matter of life and death.

• Anemone is an original Brown Swiss, still has her horns, and is 7 years young.

• Honda is a Brown Swiss and will be 14 years old next October.

What is special about our project

As a foundation for farm animals, our mission is to rescue as many animals from livestock farming as our financial resources allow.

As a non-profit organization, we finance the animals we have already rescued through donations and sponsorships.

Any surplus funds are directly invested into the living environment of our animals on the retirement farms we have restructured, for launching new projects, or for buying more cows out of livestock farming.

We are currently in the midst of a new project where we are converting a cattle farm into a retirement facility for cows and oxen in order to meet the growing demand for additional spaces.

Since our current resources are tied up in this project, we therefore do not have additional funds available in the near future to ensure financial security for Anemone and Honda.

For this we need your support

Our great hope:

We are reaching out to compassionate individuals who can empathize with the circumstances of these lovable cows and recognize the suffering that livestock farming inflicts on these wonderful, vulnerable animals throughout their lives.

We are seeking help in the form of donations to cover at least 1⁄3 of the total costs for each animal, amounting to CHF 19,000.

This funding would secure the care for both cows for the first 3 years. During this time, we hope to cover the remaining 2⁄3 of the total costs through sponsorships.

•• Cost calculation for Honda - 14 years old:

• estimated life expectancy, 6 years
• Current boarding costs Fr. 205.- / month
• Reserves for veterinary, hoof care etc. Fr. 50.- / month
• Costs for 1 year = Fr. 3’060.-

• Total costs for 6 years = Fr. 18’360.-

  1⁄3 of the total costs = Fr. 6’000.-

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•• Cost calculation for Anemone - 7 years young:

• estimated life expectancy 13 years
• Current boarding costs Fr. 205.- / month
• Reserves for veterinary, hoof care etc. Fr. 50.- / month
• Costs for 1 year = Fr. 3’060.-

• Total costs for 13 years = Fr. 39’780.-

  1⁄3 of the total costs = Fr. 13’000.-

Future outlook:

Anemone and Honda would be integrated as retirees into a herd of up to ten animals on our retirement farm in the canton of Zurich. The sanctuary can accommodate 30 animals, which are kept in groups of 10 in separate areas in a sheltered and spacious stable with large lying areas.

Naturally, the animals are outside on the pastures from spring to late fall. Only during the winter, when the weather is bad or when it is too hot in the summer, do they stay in the protected stable.

We have many years of experience in carefully and patiently acclimatizing new animals to their new environment, giving them the time they need, and gradually introducing them to their new companions if necessary.

We are fully aware of our responsibility towards our animals and leave no stone unturned in order to provide them with a species-appropriate, healthy, and sheltered retirement until their natural end of life.

Please help us with a sponsorship or donation so that these two wonderful characters can continue to live with us for many years to come.

Thank you very much!