Thousands support soon-to-be slaughtered oxen

Supporters make last-ditch efforts in hopes that their letters, petitions and pleas on Facebook will save two 11-tear-old oxen from the slaughterhouse.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20121022/NEWS01/710229931

Published October 22, 2012 in the Rutland Herald Thousands support soon-to-be slaughtered oxen Supporters make last-ditch efforts to save oxen at GMC By Lucia Suarez STAFF WRITER POULTNEY — People around the world are rallying in hopes that their letters, petitions and pleas on Facebook will save two 11-tear-old oxen from the slaughterhouse. But Green Mountain College officials are standing behind the college's decision to kill Bill and Lou later this month. “We will continue to welcome dialogue with groups outside of our community,” said college spokesman Kevin Coburn, recognizing there is not just one moral point of view. But, he said, “We are sticking with the original decision.” The news of Bill and Lou's impending trip a New York slaughterhouse broke two weeks ago after a petition was created in an effort to sway the college to let the oxen live. The petition and subsequent petitions have garnered more than 38,000 signatures from around the world, all asking for the same thing: Save Bill and Lou. “We reached out online to send them to VINE Sanctuary, said Rachelle Owen, manager of youth campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, which also started a petition. VINE, which stands for Veganism Is the Next Evolution, is a rescue organization in Springfield. “Bill and Lou will get the retirement they deserve and by saying they are not worth living is just belittling the work they did,” Owen said. “We are urging them to do the right thing,” she added. Coburn said GMC has received a lot of messages in support of the college's decision as well as eloquent pleas to save their lives. Some messages, he said, were also rather unpleasant, but none are deterring the college from moving forward. “It's fair to say that the majority of the response have been from outside of Rutland County and outside of Vermont, who have not seen our statement and have not been exposed to our point of view,” Corburn said. Bill and Lou have worked at the GMC's Cerridwen Farm for more than a decade, but earlier this year, Lou's back leg was injured after stepping into a woodchuck hole. He has not been able to work since the injury. Bill, incidentally, will accompany Lou to the slaughterhouse because the two worked in tandem and it was thought that Bill would not thrive without his companion. The college delayed making any decision to allow the student body to weigh in on the issue, which Coburn described as multifaceted with no universally accepted right answer. “It would be an exaggeration to say that it was a unanimous decision,” Coburn said. “The decision began with the students who knew Bill and Lou the best, the ones (who) worked at the farm.” “(This decision) was not made in a cavalier way. It came after a lot of discussion and reflection,” Coburn said. “It's part of an ongoing process.” After the oxen are slaughtered, their processed beef will be served in the college's dining hall. School officials said it will provide about a month's worth of hamburgers. Owen said people should continue to pressure the college to change its stance because they care about Bill and Lou, even if they have never met them. “It's never too late,” she said. “They have a sanctuary able and willing to take them at a moment's notice.” Lou, left, and Bill, right, stand out in a pasture at Green Mountain College in Poultney earlier this month. Photo: Vyto Starinskas / Staff Photo