Anyone’s heart would break just by seeing Emma’s past. Footage shows a woman in chains on a trailer on her way there. She’s been reared for meat and has never had the opportunity to live with her own herd. Her eyes are large and moist, as if she’s sobbing, and there’s little doubt she’s terrified – even neuroscientists have stated that animals have consciousness and feelings. Emma was adopted by a shelter for beings like her by an unbelievable stroke of luck.
When a family dairy farm faced insolvency, it chose to close its doors. The herd’s final 25 cows faced a fate worse than poverty: sla.ughter. However, animal enthusiasts were adamant about saving these lives. “We formed an association with the farmer, whom we won over with our project proposal,” the Kuhrettung Rhein-Berg sanctuary adds. “The association’s purpose is to establish a refuge where they may remain in their familiar surroundings, under the finest animal welfare circumstances, ideally until the natural end of their lives.”
Emma has received one of the greatest blessings thanks to the sanctuary: belonging. The most potent act of compassion for the most oppressed individuals on the planet is frequently the most simple: live and let live.
