Emilie and Harriet
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” ― Abraham Lincoln
Birthdate: 2010 Arrival date: 31st July 2013
Harriet & Emilie were delivered, with the rest of their flock, to a sale yard in NSW, where their fate was to be determined.
The group of ladies were delivered, unloaded into unfamiliar yards with unfamiliar people and dogs making loud noises. Confused and frightened, they huddled with their mates.
We were able to save Harriet & Emilie but like thousands of her brothers and sisters every day in Australia, the rest of her flock weren't so lucky. They were purchased by 'the meat man" and faced another long and frightening journey to their grisly fate.
What makes the story even more horrible is that most of their flock are pregnant, as heartbreaking as it is to see any animal frightened and sentenced to death, there is something even worse about seeing a mother carrying her child in the same position when you just know she wants to protect herself and her baby.
Whilst people will occasionally consider the suffering animals endure at the slaughterhouse, it's not often considered the stress and fear they endure on their way there, via the transport trucks and sale-yards.
Harriet was named after Harriet Tubman, an amazing lady who was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made more than nineteen missions to rescue more than 300 slaves using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. She later helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era struggled for women's suffrage.
Emilie was named after Emilie Schindler, Emilie was a Sudetenland-German born woman who, with her husband Oskar Schindler, helped to save the lives of 1,200 to 1,700 Jewish people during World War II. Oskar Schindler, a Sudeten German industrialist, created the now-famous list of Schindler's Jews by employing them in his enamelware and ammunition's factories, providing them immunity from the Nazis.
Harriet and Emilie will live out their days on Little Oak Sanctuary, free, safe, loved, and sharing the stories of their flock, and all the others across the country.