Wednesday, 31 May 2023

 Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (09:53): On 20 June 2017 a tiny woolly bundle sat in my lap as I drove him down the Calder to start his new life. Henry the lamb was just two days old, discovered by a kind member of the public, without his mother and facing certain death by winter exposure. He was one of the lucky ones, with an estimated 15 million lambs dying this way each and every year in Australia. I gave him bottles every 2 hours. He slept in a cot next to my bed, and he loved to lounge by the warm fire, competing with four cats for the best spot. And with each and every day that he grew into a big, healthy sheep that, much to his disgust, had to move outside, so too did my love for him.

On 20 May 2023 Henry unexpectedly left this world and with it left an enormous hole in my heart. Loving a farmed animal hurts because in their happiness and joy you see the personality behind someone who is usually considered a commodity. Losing one hurts even more because it reminds you that the vast majority do not get to live the life of comfort and of safety that they did, because I know that as much as Henry was special to me, he was not special. Every farmed animal is an individual with a personality, with a story and with a desire to just live. So today I reiterate my dedication to improving the lives of all animals, for Henry, who I will miss every day for the rest of my life.