- Note - Unlike Liberty's happy ending, 10 billion* other
mammals and birds raised for food in the US are not so lucky, living their
short, miserable lives in the most abysmal conditions and dying even more
horrific deaths. Pause for a moment before you cut into that steak or tear
the flesh off that drumstick to consider... - ed.
-
- * Figure does NOT include fish or other aquatic life
slaughtered for food. More detailed stats here: http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-anag2003.html
-
- Liberty, the bull that escaped the butcher's block by
bolting from a Newark slaughterhouse last week and running into a truck
garage, will now share greener pastures with two other famous bovine fugitives.
-
- Queenie the cow broke free from a Queens, N.Y., slaughterhouse
in 2000, and Freedom, also a cow, leaped over a 6-foot fence in Cincinnati
in 2002 to taste the open fields.
-
- All three are together now and living the life most cattle
bred for the grill can only dream about: 175 acres on an upstate New York
farm animal sanctuary.
-
- "He's literally and figuratively in the green pastures
of Farm Sanctuary," said Lorri Bauston, executive director of the
nonprofit educational and advocacy group.
-
- "He bounded off the truck and started mooing. The
other cows started mooing. He's got lots of new friends, and they are all
giving him kisses," she said.
-
- Compared with last Friday, when Liberty's life expectancy
could be measured in days, he now can expect to chew the cud for the next
20 to 25 years.
-
- Liberty broke free from Baraka Halal Fresh Meats on Lockwood
Street in the Ironbound section and made his way to Triangle Towing Service
just around the corner on Ferry Street.
-
- Judy Borsellino, Triangle's owner, says Baraka Halal
owes her $4,000 for work she did on its trucks. At first, the Berkeley
Heights woman wanted to barter the bull for payment, but she then decided
to set the cattle free, calling his escape "divine providence."
-
- After a little legal wrangling and last-minute excitement
caused when Newark police and the United States Department of Agriculture
showed up to claim the bull, Borsellino, 60, can finally say mission accomplished.
-
- "He did more than help himself, he helped all of
us. It was a wonderful experience, and I would do it again in a heartbeat,"
said Borsellino.
-
- The bull was examined by a veterinarian Thursday night
and given a clean bill of health before officials from Farm Sanctuary in
Watkins Glen, N.Y., loaded him into a truck for the five-hour trip. Liberty
arrived at his new home at about 5 a.m. yesterday.
-
- "He's going to live a long, happy life," said
Borsellino.
-
- Officials at Farm Sanctuary said Liberty is a bull because
he has not been castrated. Specifically, he is a Hereford bull, and he
weighs about 600 pounds and is 8 to 9 months old. But because the sanctuary
has a no-breeding policy, Liberty's first nickname of the "Freedom
Steer" should be valid again soon.
-
- In addition to 175 acres of land, Farm Sanctuary has
600 other animals, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese. After spending
some time being rehabilitated in the animal hospital, Liberty will join
a herd of about 50 cattle, including the two other celebrity escapees.
-
- "A big part of our work is to get the public to
recognize that these animals have feelings," said Bauston. "The
animals hear the screams and smell the blood. They ran for a reason."
-
- The owners of Baraka Halal could not be reached for comment,
but Liberty's story almost didn't have a happy ending.
-
- On Thursday, Newark police and USDA officials showed
up to claim Liberty. After lawyers for Farm Sanctuary got involved, the
regulatory and legal ownership issues were cleared up, and the USDA cleared
the bull for transfer.
-
- Borsellino said the owner of Baraka told her that the
bull was worth about $1,000. She plans to knock that much off the money
she says she's owed.
-
- While Borsellino will miss caring for the bull and looking
into his eyes, she's happy he'll have a home. She'll get to see the animal
again at a fund-raiser this summer.
-
- "I did not get one negative phone call. Even if
they weren't vegetarians, they felt if Liberty made a break for it, he
was meant to be free," said Borsellino.
-
- - Jeffery C. Mays covers Newark. He can be reached at
jmays@starled ger.com or (973) 392-4149.
-
- © 2004 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved.
- http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-6/108459663210
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