Bond - the little calf
with the sad eyes
An animal-loving woman went to get firewood from a farmer and asked him if she could visit the animals in the barn.
She discovered a small bull calf in a calf box. He was much smaller than all the others and looked at her with big, questioning eyes. He had been born a few weeks early, which is probably why he was smaller than all the other calves in the stall.
However, he shared one thing with many calves born in the dairy industry: the common fate of calves that are separated from the cow immediately after calving, do not feel body heat, are not allowed to drink from their mum – simply stand or lie alone in their box without social contact and wait to see what comes next.
The little bull calf enjoyed the woman’s caresses and her attention. He closed his eyes with his miserably long eyelashes and seemed very comfortable. It was all the worse when she stopped stroking him and he looked after her sadly.
"What must be going on in an animal ...."
The calves are born, immediately separated from their mother. The mother hears it crying, but can’t get to it and vice versa. The animal-loving woman could no longer forget the calf’s questioning eyes. It should be allowed to live like all calves that are allowed to stay with their mum and not be sold at auction to a fattening farm at a few weeks old and then taken to the slaughterhouse at around 20 months.
Small and sad, the woman had the calf in her head and her thoughts went round in circles about how she could help it.
She made an enquiry to Gut Aiderbichl because she knew that it was probably the only institution where the little bull would be taken in and cared for until the natural end of his life.
Bond found a place at Gut Aiderbichl's Moosfeldhof farm
Bond’s rescuer Christian Kögl, manager of the Moosfeldhof estate, tells the story of how she discovered the sad little Bond, beaming with joy and tears choking her eyes.
In a voice choked with tears, she talked again and again about how the mother cow and calf feel when they are separated after calving. What it must be like when the cow and the newborn calf “moo” through the barn, looking for each other, smelling each other, but not coming together. Christian listened to her and could understand her very well.
At the Moosfeldhof, little Bond walked slowly and gingerly off the transporter. He knew the scent of his rescuer, but there were other people he hadn’t noticed yet. He slowly took in his new surroundings until he suddenly seemed to break through a wall and jumped around in the grass full of joy.
Why the name Bond?
The last three numbers on his ear tag are the numbers …007, so it was clear that this would be our Bond, who drinks milk and not martinis like James Bond. Our Bond is a go-getter, a charmer and has settled in very quickly with his fellow dogs. His eyes no longer look so sad. Bond was spared the fattening pen and thus also the slaughter.
The story of little Bond is intended to make us think in many ways: how animals feel, keeping cows and calves together should be encouraged, more knowledge about animal husbandry would reduce meat consumption.
