Emily Chapman Laing
Eleven cows have been stolen from an animal sanctuary in Cranbourne.
Strong Hearts Farm Sanctuary (SHFS) is offering a $20,000 reward for the safe return of their “family” members.
“We just want them home safe, if you have them and come forward you will not get into trouble,” the SHFS team wrote in a Facebook post.
Among those stolen are Buttercup, a 17-year-old fawn jersey with “white socks”, Sofia, a 4-year-old Ayrshire cow with “half of one horn missing”, and Napoleon, a 14-year-old steer with an “uneven gait”.
The cows were stolen from agistment property between 27 February and 4 March.
“We will do anything to get them back and we will never stop until we find them,” SHFS wrote.
“They are loved members of our family that have been with us for 8 years and we are absolutely beside ourselves with worry for them, it’s believed that whoever has them may not know that they’re stolen.
“We have been in the middle of moving cows from agistment they have been at for 8 years to our new sanctuary, they’re a mixed herd and very friendly so should stand out.
“They’re NLIS tagged and registered, and most are microchipped.”
SHFS noted they had been dealing with police, with little luck.
“So far both us and the police have contacted every slaughterhouse, livestock agent and sale yard we can and have been in contact with DPI and NLIS,” SHFS wrote.
“Currently we are trying to make them too hot to handle.
“We will not press charges against whoever has them, we just want them back safely.”
The team has called on the community to assist in the safe return of their bovine darlings.
Please please call Michayla – 0434 910 599, Jess – 0434 115 336 or Steph 0417 668 945 with any information.
