Page 113 - EarthHeroes

Over the next three years, the sanctuary became home to many other animals, as well as the cows. There’s Gizmo, an affectionate pink and black hog raised by a farming student who could not face sending her to auction to be sold for meat. Pepper is a pet goat whose owner died. There’s Roobadoo, the chestnut mustang horse with one blue eye and one brown eye brought in by Renee’s niece. And a calf, Harvey, who they found sheltering in someone’s garden after the flood. Ducks have their place here too, along with a dozen chickens – some rescued from a cockfighting ring and others from a factory farm which closed.
The sanctuary is a charity and Renee has to work hard to raise donations to pay for the animals’ food, bedding, vets’ bills and all the other things it needs to operate. Staff and volunteers now work there too. As well as looking after the animals, Renee and Tommy also give advice and support to other ranchers who want to leave cattle farming and change to new, greener businesses, like generating wind and solar energy. They are currently helping one ex-rancher convert his ranch to a mushroom farm. They aim to teach people about veganism through the way they live their life, rather than by telling them
how to live, and many of their friends have become vegans too.
After Hurricane Harvey, Renee and Tommy eventually returned to the sanctuary with their animals. It had taken months
of expensive work to repair the damage. They are planning to sell the ranch and move to a new location less likely to flood, so that they can focus on their mission of rescuing animals and letting them live out their lives
in peace, and transforming the business of ranching in America. But in the meantime, there is lots of work to do.
Looking out on to wrecked fences, scattered debris and damaged chicken coops left by the hurricane, Renee knows that, as climate change becomes a reality, there will be many more events like these. She hopes that people will urgently rethink the food on their plates. Not just for the animals, but for the environment, and the future of the world we all share.
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