Australia’s raging fire crisis has killed half a billion animals, and we’re beyond heartbroken about the people and animals that reside there. A story broke out on the first day of 2020, showing how a farmer from Coolagolite, New South Wales killed 20 of his cattle that suffered from wildfires.
Steve Shipton had to shoot 20 cows that were under his care because they were dying from injuries and burns, and apparently, there were no other ways to save the cows’ lives. After Steve discussed with a vet, he realised that there was nothing he could do to save these cows. So he made a difficult decision to put his cows down with a gun, according to Metro UK.
Source: metro uk
Before the execution, Steve was checking the wounds and injuries on his cows and most of their skin was charred by the raging fire. The cows were lying on the ground and they were on the brink of death, some of them had even died on the spot. According to Sin Chew Daily, Steve couldn’t hold his emotions and had to caress his dying cattle before ending their lives “to end the pain”.
Source: metro uk
Steve then shook hands with the vet, thanking him for the support to make such a difficult decision.
Source: metro uk
Right after the painful process, Steve spent a long while crying at the very scene, expressing his unexplainable agony. He was also consoled by fellow farmers Bernie and Peter about the passing of his precious animals.
Although we aren’t in any position to judge his actions, we would still want to believe that he did that for the sake of his cows. It must’ve been a heart-wrenching thing for him to do, to the cows he raised on his own. We hope that other innocent animals could be saved from this horrible fire and that the fire could be ceased soon.
Also read: Australia’s Fire Crisis Wiped Out Nearly Half a BILLION Animals, Turning Glaciers Black
