Cows
Parvati is cow who is part Scottish Highland and part Charlois. She was originally in a petting zoo that sent her to a feedlot for slaughter. Now that she is at Ching Sanctuary, she is leading a very happy existence with her husband Nandi.
Petting zoos monitor how much money is made from each animal by the coin operated feeding machines in their confined areas. If an animal is not "performing", in other words not taking in enough money, it is sent to slaughter. There are many reasons why an animal is not drawing in enough money. There may be a more aggressive animal competing for food, a cuter baby animal that gets more attention, or the animal may not enjoy the food. None of these reasons is justification for sending an animal to become food. Modern petting zoos are trying to improve their image as well and turning into "functional" farms. All this means is that the animals in their care and guarenteed to get slaughtered, and usually at a very young age. We encourage people to teach their children the care for non-human animals by not supporting these places.
The purpose of a feedlot is to fatten animals before they are slaughtered. The animals are well fed but that is about the only care they get. If an animal is sick, it is not given veterinary care. It would cost the people at the feedlot too much just to kill them anyway. At Ching we feel it is wrong to treat animals so poorly. Parvati and all of us advocate a meat-free lifestyle because cows like her have the same emotional capacity and will to live as you and I do.