By Tomer Kerman
Shai-Lee Menzilevsky, savior of Tzili and Gili, tells the story of their rescue:
“For a long time I’ve been visiting cowsheds and sheep pens. Since my visits reoccur at specific sites, I had connected and became friends with certain cows and sheep, which I visit particularly, check up on them and take photos.
One of the places I’ve been visiting was a sheep and lamb pen designated for meat. I had free access due to the fact I’ve presented a cover story regarding my visits to the owners. I witnessed many cases of abuse. For example, during the wool shearing, an employee grabs them by one leg and drags them on the ground. For the majority of the time the sheep are pregnant in order to make more and more lambs and sheep for meat. The pregnant sheep is being dragged on the ground. The udders are greatly enlarged from the multiple pregnancies. They try to run, but eventually they are all grabbed by the leg, hurled, dragged, their legs tied together and then sheared.
I decided I won’t leave this hell without saving at least one soul. Eventually I left there with two female lambs that were designated for slaughter. They were saved from death.
One morning, after a year of visiting the same pen, the city vet came to give vaccines to the male and female lambs, and I already knew I was going to rescue another soul. The employees began rounding up all the lambs that were needed to get the vaccine. The lambs scattered away in panic. They are terrified of humans and especially the pen employees. It seems this fear of humans is already in their blood. One of the workers chased them down, and the lambs ran and climbed over each other out of fear. He grabbed them by the wool of their back, lifted them up and tossed them into the cell in which they were supposed to get the vaccine.
This time my camera didn’t work. I had an old phone that was already filled with photos. I turned it on with shaking hands to shoot but it also didn’t work. The worker kept lifting these two month old babies and throwing them into the cell down from his height. Some sheep are designated for breeding; they are kept alive for a longer period scheduled to be slaughtered on October 2013. I knew this group from birth. Usually sheep that are not meant for breeding are slaughtered when they are five months old, when they weigh at least 60 kilograms, and they are sold for 30 shekels per kilogram. By the end of the day I left there with two lambs – Tzili and Gili.
The main difficulty in rescuing farm animals is in finding them a home. You can’t save an animal without knowing in advance that it has a foster home. You got to coordinate with other volunteers who would help and also set up an alternative home, in case one of the options doesn’t go through. For Tzili and Gili I successfully found a home at A., who never met a sheep up close. She took care of two goats that she rescued herself, but goats are different in their character than sheep, they are usually slightly less friendly. Sheep are very “cuddly” animals, and both Zili and Gili never leave each other’s sight for a moment.
At this farm they eventually found out the real reason for my visits, and so- I cannot visit there anymore.
Saving Tzili and Gili was the first rescue of large farm animals, and it inspired many future rescues.”
