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The Animal Sanctuary in Matakana rescues animals that have been abandoned or abused.
Matakana Animal Sanctuary’s Shawn Bishop got the fright of her life when she was alerted that three of her hand-raised pets had been sold for meat at the Tuakau Saleyards.
Two years ago, three steers, Dash, Dancer and Buck, had been adopted to a woman under a “no-kill contract”.
The contract specified that the animals would not be slaughtered or eaten and that the owners must return the animals if they were no longer able to keep them.
After finding out her former pets were destined for the supermarket, Shawn immediately contacted the saleyards and was able to track down the livestock agent the steers had been sold to.
Shawn says the agent had a suspicion they were pets because of their friendly nature and he agreed to sell them back to Shawn.
Ironically, because the steers had been hand-raised, they commanded a good price at the market and
Shawn had to pay $3450 to buy them back.
She started a “bring the boys home” campaign on Givealittle and was overwhelmed to receive $3355.
Borrowed Earth Ceramics in Whangaparaoa even donated a piece of art for auction to raise funds.
Then, chief executive of animal protection organisation SAFE, Debra Ashton, contacted Shawn and offered to pay the full repurchase price.
“Shawn was absolutely courageous in her love for these animals, and it’s a privilege to be able to support her so they can live the life they deserve,” Debra says.
The funds already donated will be used for the rescue of other hand-reared cows.
Shawn says she has hired a lawyer to pursue the owner who breached the no-kill contract. She hopes that at the very least they will be forced to pay for the cost of saving the steers.
