To the Editor:

Did you go to the Altamont Fair? Did you see the appealing baby animals display? If you did, did you notice a baby Holstein bull calf named Jimmy, and are you curious as to what became of him? Well, I happen to know.

My 7-year-old daughter and I felt sad for him, being alone and appearing scared at the fair. It took me several attempts to find out who actually owned Jimmy.

At one point, someone who seemed in charge of the cattle barn told me I did not want that calf because he had diarrhea. Of course, I was not really interested in obtaining a healthy specimen, but rather in giving Jimmy a kinder life.

I verified who owned him finally after the fair ended. The farmer told me he was going to another farm the next day and I needed to pick him up that night if I wanted him. To me, that meant he would begin being fattened up for veal, or worse, be rendered.

So, I arranged to borrow a large-enough vehicle, paid the farmer $100 for Jimmy, and loaded him into the car. I brought him to a friend in Fort Plain who had room to keep him until I found him a permanent home.

He was extremely hungry that night and readily drank two gallons of powdered, reconstituted milk. He did have terrible, liquid diarrhea.

The next morning, Jimmy was even sicker. He was passing liquid diarrhea and could hardly get up. A veterinary colleague quickly came out to assess him, treated him with an antibiotic and intravenous fluids, and told me that he had pneumonia.

The big question with Jimmy at this point, was whether he ever was given any colostrum at the time of his birth. This is the initial milk made by mothers that is extremely rich in antibodies. It is very important that infant mammals receive colostrum very quickly after birth or their gastrointestinal system closes to its effect and they are left immunodeficient (with inadequate defense against disease).

Jimmy did better that day thanks to the supportive care, but started to fail again the next day. The veterinarian came out to see him again and did her best to try and combat his diarrhea. That night, he looked great and was playing and butting us for more food.

We were all encouraged, but his veterinarian told us not to be too optimistic because of his possible lack of colostrum. The next morning, Jimmy was in terrible shape. He had a 105.8 fever, could not get up, and was thrashing.

We arranged to transfer him to Cornell with the hopes of saving him. He did make it alive to Cornell, but developed Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation, a blood-clotting disorder associated with his extremely high fever; his blood was thickening to sludge. He developed severe seizures and multiple organ failure.

Sadly, we had to make the choice to euthanize him. Jimmy was worth all of the money I spent on him, and worth my education in the milk industry as well. I am glad to have at least given him four days of love and caring, and one day in which he was able to be happy and play. He was 14 days old.  

I believe there may be a more humane way to produce cows’ milk to supply the human demand, but it is certainly not generally done. “Certified humane” farms permit the calf to stay with his or her mother for several months, in which the mother’s 100 pounds of milk daily is used both to feed her calf and for sale, with the excess milk sold to the human market after the baby’s demands are met.

Every cow that lactates (makes milk) must have given birth within two years (usually about 10 months). Many of the female calves are used to replace older milk cows, but most of the baby bulls and some heifers are used for veal, or are simply discarded.

In Jimmy’s case, he was clearly not given colostrum because he was not deemed valuable and was simply used to show fairgoers a cute little calf — a beautiful life snuffed prematurely for human entertainment and profit.

Danielle Pokorny

New Scotland

Editor’s note: Danielle Pokorny is a small-animal veterinarian who lives in Voorheesville.

Pat Canaday, Altamont Fair board member and treasurer, responded, “The Altamont Fair takes the health and welfare of animals very seriously and maintains strict adherence to the highest standards of ethics and care. Our exhibitors and staff, in partnership with outside experts and veterinary advisors, continually seek to improve standards in animal health and welfare.”

She said further that the fair follows the state Department of Agriculture and Markets’ rules and regulations for animals on exhibit and in competition. The department “requires an examination and health certificate by an accredited veterinarian at home, before the animal can be taken to the fairgrounds,” Canaday said in an email to The Enterprise. “This examination documents that required vaccinations have been administered and checks for any infectious diseases before being sent to the fair.

“When the animals are brought to the fairgrounds, they are examined by the Department of Agriculture and Markets veterinary staff to identify signs of illness or contagious disease. Animals that do not meet the health standards are not permitted to exhibit and are sent home. The animals at the fair are seen by the veterinary staff daily; any indications of injury or illness are identified, treated by the owner or the animal is removed from the fair for treatment by the owner at home.  These protocols are in place to protect the health of the animals in the exhibit or competition.”