I knew a man once,
lived a long and prosperous life,
tending his own business.
– Joe Chinowith
Vegans, no more than vandals cutting fences.
Thin black cows onto a mountain road at night
to graze a narrow shoulder headlights miss
on the curves. Children, juvenile delinquents
out to save cows to kill someone coming home
late from work, blinded by their ignorant
self-righteousness. Everyday, five months now,
feeding cows without their help in this drought,
they’ve just arrived like Mighty Mouse.
We’ve heard the rumors: thin cows, fences cut up the canyon. Inquiring phone calls we’ve been unable to address because we’ve been busy feeding our own cows since the middle of August and haven’t been up the road to know, but we do see pickup loads of hay, everyday, headed in that direction, gooseneck loads of cows coming down. It’s a drought.
Yesterday, I went up the road with a reporter from the Fresno Bee at his request. With over a hundred complaints to the District Attorney’s office and inquiries at every level of the State, this is now news—most all of which has been generated from Facebook.
What cows we saw we’re cleaning up alfalfa hay, about 40 head in a five-mile stretch, half of which had calves. They were thin like most cows in Tulare County, but obviously not neglected, most with too much belly to have not been fed on a regular basis.
Without looking too hard, we found at least half-a-dozen places where fences had been cut and recently repaired, and as many unlocked wire gates that were reportedly thrown open last week, putting human lives in jeopardy. It’s tough enough to take care of cows in a historic drought, but having to deal with vandalism and bad press has made this an irresponsible and emotional issue.
The Dry Creek canyon is on the alert, taking license plate numbers of all suspicious vehicles.
LINKS:
Last Chance for Animals – facebook
drycrikjournal 