Calves in need of a ‘forever’ home Liz Bell liz@mpnews.com.au MORNINGTON Peninsula residents are being asked to open their hearts and provide a forever home to the unwanted calves of the dairy industry. The ’Til The Cows Come Home charity is looking for adopters who can take on two calves to raise as pets, never to end up on the dinner table. Operations manager Rachele Clarke says every year millions of unwanted farmed animals suffer an unimaginable fate. “These animals are the forgotten ones, they often endure terrible lives before they come to us, but we feed them up, get them healthy and try to find caring homes for them,” she said. “Calves are such beautiful, sentient animals that really bond with humans, but most of all they will give their owners love and bring them joy and friendship.” Moorooduc adopter Sarah Rollinson can attest to that. The hobby farm owner has fostered dozens of calves that needed immediate care before finding their permanent homes and has adopted three calves and two adult cows. “Some of the calves come to us on death’s door, so you develop a bond with them after looking after them and they bond with you as well,” she said. “My three little calf boys are now a group of friends who I call the Three Amigos, and they are adorable. “It’s incredibly rewarding experience to work with calves, and cows are now my favourite ani-
mal … I call them my grass puppies. Each one has its own personality, but they are all loving and give so much.” Ms Clarke said the charity‘s volunteers daily see the sad reality of farm “waste” and animal neglect. “They see first-hand how the focus on profits results in animals being treated as objects, when it is proven that animals feel pain, love, and sadness,” she said. Ms Clarke said the charity currently had a number of calves surrendered from local dairy farms who needed forever homes. At time, there are up to 60 calves in foster care in Victoria alone. “We urgently need to get these calves adopted so we have room to save more calves being born on dairy farms every week,” she said. To adopt a calf, email info@tilthecowscomehome.org to express interest. For information on the charity, go to tilthecowscomehome.org/why-we-have-so-many-calvescoming-into-our-care/ )
YEAR two students at Our Lady of Fatima Primary School Laarni and Guyan during Harmony Day. Picture: Supplied
Harmonywith colour STUDENTS from schools around the Mornington Peninsula participated in Harmony Day at the end of March, getting involved in activities linked to the theme of diversity and inclusiveness. On Friday 25 March, parents and friends of
Our Lady of Fatima Primary School in Rosebud held a crazy colour fun run, where the rainbow of colours added to the celebration of diversity. The money raised will be used to buy resources for the school’s lunchtime club, which promotes a welcoming and inclusive environment for all children on the yard.
Shire sets aside $300,000 for CFAs FIRE brigades across the Mornington Peninsula will soon be able to apply for money from Mornington Peninsula Shire for projects supported by volunteers. Council has voted to set up a working group to disperse the $300,000 it received from the sale of land to the Country Fire Authority in 2018. The working group will have a representative from both the Western Port and peninsula CFA groups, a shire representative and an independent member. Once established, the group will
invite all local fire brigades to submit applications. CFA group officer Western Port, David Breadmore, said brigades were grateful and appreciative of the grant from the shire, and were looking forward to working on projects that benefit all peninsula brigades and communities. The mayor Cr Anthony Marsh said emergency services did an “amazing job” of looking after the community’s safety, “so it’s great to be able to give something back”.
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Mornington News
12 April 2022
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