Once my son was born and I held him in my hands, I started to cry, but my tears of joy mixed with tears of grief recalling that day with Balarama’s mother, and knowing her heartbreak and confusion play out over and over, every day, in the lives of millions of cows exploited for dairy.
Photography by Julie O'Neill
One of the many reasons I decided to birth my son at home was the fear
that somebody might take him from me, even if just for a few seconds. I had
a heightened sense of anxiety around the idea of being separated from my
son; I could not bear the thought, and wanted him close to me at all times.
I know now that part of my anxiety came from my experience rescuing cows in
the dairy industry, whose babies are stolen from them at birth.
When I founded my animal sanctuary in Colombia years ago, our first property
was very close to a large dairy farm. One day soon after we opened, a cow
jumped the fence onto our land. She was pregnant, and immediately began to
go into labor. I remember thinking it was almost as though she knew she
would have to do this in order to save her baby, and secure his freedom. I
rushed to assist her and after a few hours, her calf Balarama was born in my
arms.
Shortly after the calf’s birth, the people from the dairy farm came to take
the mother cow and baby back. Knowing their fate, I was beside myself,
crying, pleading with the dairy farmer to let me keep them both. They would
not allow this, but they let me keep the calf since he was a male and could
not produce milk. I was so relieved to be able to rescue Balarama, but I was
devastated for his mother, who cried and bellowed and called so mournfully
as they forcibly led her away. Sobbing, I told her I was so, so sorry, and I
promised her I would protect her boy forever. I carry her desperate,
bewildered cries in my heart to this day.
In this way, I became an adoptive mother to Balarama.
Some years later, I gave birth to my own baby boy. Once he was born and I
held him in my hands, I started to cry, but my tears of joy mixed with tears
of grief recalling that day with Balarama’s mother, and knowing her
heartbreak and confusion play out over and over, every day, in the lives of
millions of cows exploited for dairy. Knowing they will suffer this loss
year after year as they are reimpregnated and their children stolen from
them with each successive birth, all so humans can consume the mother’s milk
intended for calves. There is no glass of milk or piece of cheese in the
world that is worth taking babies away from their mothers. There is no dairy
product in the world that justifies exploiting motherhood at all.
Follow Juliana’s Animal Sanctuary on facebook and learn more at their website.
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