A couple of weeks ago, a brave cow jumped for her life from the second level of a transport truck headed for the slaughterhouse . The story made headlines, and the cow, now named Brianna, was rescued by Skylands Animal Sanctuary & Rescue in New Jersey.





What nobody knew at the time was that Brianna was pregnant . A few days later she gave birth to her calf, Winter, at Skylands.





Animal control officer John DeCando arrived at the scene shortly after Brianna jumped from the transport truck. “When that cow jumped 10 feet, it destroyed the door,” he remarked. “That cow knew where she was going and knew to protect herself and her baby, no doubt in my mind.”





DeCando realized that something had to be done, that sending pregnant animals to slaughter was particularly egregious and needed to be stopped. Immediately after Brianna’s rescue, he sent a letter to legislators in New Jersey asking for someone to sponsor a bill banning the slaughter of pregnant animals . Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly responded and quickly introduced a bill that “would make the selling and transporting of pregnant livestock for slaughter an animal cruelty crime.” State senator Nellie Pou, who said she was shocked to hear of pregnant animals being slaughtered, will introduce similar legislation.





Sadly, pregnant cows, pigs, and other animals exploited in the factory farming industry are treated appallingly. In the pork industry, mother pigs spend nearly their entire lives in gestation crates, cruel cages where they can’t even turn around or fully extend their limbs. And for dairy, cows regularly have their newborn calves stolen from them.





See for yourself:









If the story of Brianna and Winter moved you, there’s something you can do. By choosing plant-based foods over meat, dairy, and eggs, you can pull your support from an industry that routinely causes great animal suffering. To learn more about vegan eating , visit ChooseVeg.com today.