 Lucky calf
When two Scottish tourists travelling in the South Island saw a dead cow in a remote paddock, they didn't hesitate to investigate. They found the cow had died after giving birth and located her calf nearby. The newborn calf was obviously hungry and her big brown eyes took only seconds to convince the tourists to embark on a rescue mission. With no farm house anywhere in sight, and a suspicion that an orphaned calf would not be welcomed by a farmer in any case, they decided to take the calf and find a good home for her. They struggled to carry the calf over a number of fences and managed to lift her into their rental campervan. Having heard about SAFE through the media, they contacted SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek, who took in the tourists and the calf for the night to ensure that the animal would receive the care she needed. "This little calf was in dire need of a feed and it took some effort to find all the necessary ingredients to tide her over for the night", says Hans. "She was so hungry that we had little trouble getting her to drink and it was great to see her demeanour change after her first feed. She became much more alert and started to take a real interest in her surroundings. It took no time at all for the calf to adopt us as her new parents and she followed us around like a little dog. We let her out into the garden the next day and she loved to explore and run around. An encounter with our hissing cat made her jump in the air with all her feet off the ground!" says Hans.  The calf has now been transported to live the rest of her life in an animal sanctuary surrounded by lots of animal and human friends. She has already formed a firm friendship with a goat and has settled in well. Thanks to the efforts of two caring tourists this calf will never be exploited by the dairy industry or be killed for her meat. "This was the first time that I had housed a calf in my kitchen", says Hans. "It was a great experience and very gratifying to save her precious life".
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