Felix

“This is Felix. A beautiful baby boy I was privileged to meet and spend time with.
Felix was healthy. Apart from being malnourished and weak from starvation - he was healthy. And he was young. He was only 7 days old.

I want to tell you about him. Who he was. His unique personality. His gentle nature.”

In September 2023, during our investigation of Tasmanian Quality Meats, we spent time in the holding pens with bobby calves from the dairy industry. One of them was called Felix…

“When I met Felix, he was laying down in the pen on the floor of the slaughterhouse. He was laying with the other calves. I climbed into the pen and sat down.

Felix lifted his head and watched me with interest. I could see him trying to decide if I was worth getting up for. His legs were so tired. His curiosity got to him. He stood up and walked over.

He walked right up to me. He climbed up over me as he tried to sit on my lap. Just like a gentle lap dog.

He desperately wanted his mother’s comfort. Her teat to suckle on. He tried to emulate that with me. He suckled my hands. My jacket. My beanie.

He placed his face against mine, as I stroked his cheeks. Nuzzling his wet nose into mine. He wanted to be close. He cheekily grabbed my head torch. He started suckling on it. We laughed.”

One of our investigators had a very special connection with Felix. Although we were unable to rescue him from the slaughterhouse that night, we will forever remember him and tell his story.

“Felix, my darling. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m so sorry I couldn’t take away the pain. I’m so sorry, I could only offer you a few minutes of comfort and love before we had to flee.

I’m so sorry our goodbye was rushed. I’m so sorry I didn’t clutch you tighter. That I didn’t pick you up and carry you out of that hell hole. I am so sorry I left you there. To be murdered.
Your life was stolen from you. There’s no softening this. You didn’t want to die.”

- Investigator diary by Meghan Quinlan