A blind steer named Oatmeal is at center of what might be an unprecedented Stock Show showdown. Animal rights activists have raised thousands of dollars hoping to save Oatmeal from slaughter.
Kids get close to their show animals. They know the steers they raise are ultimately destined for dinner tables.
It can be hard to say goodbye.
The Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo sells hundreds of animals to buyers, who process them. This year, Oatmeal was one of them.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported on the emotional separation for Oatmeal's owner, 13-year-old Kendyll Williams.
Now, Oatmeal is a cause.
"We're hoping they will allow us to rescue Oatmeal... pardon him," said Renee King-Sonnen. She and her husband own Rowdy Girl Sanctuary near Houston.
"I'm a vegan animal activist. And I got the Vegan Rookie Animal Activist of the Year award," she told us via Skype from her rescue facility near Houston.
King-Sonnen used to raise and sell calves herself, but turned vegan a couple of years ago, and turned the ranch into a farm animal rescue. "Rowdy Girl" was the name of a cow.
"We've gone from 28 cows to now right at 68 farm animals, all from rescue," she said.
King-Sonnen said Oatmeal is already waiting at a slaughterhouse in Corpus Christi. She pleaded with Stock Show officials on Wednesday.
"I'm just asking that you please let us rescue Oatmeal. His fate is in your hands. He was pretty adamant that wasn't going to happen," she said.
Stock Show spokesman Matt Brockman said it would set a bad precedent, since the event is — after all — about ranching.
And future ranchers.
He said he feels especially bad about comments aimed at the girl who raised Oatmeal. King-Sonnen said she feels sorry for her, too.
"I saw in Kendyll's spirit, in her heart, in her little soul..." she said, as a phone call interrupted the interview for the fifth time or so. She said she's getting support and money from all over to help her cause.
Oatmeal the blind steer has hit a nerve.
