Update! Grammy Award-Winning Songwriter Diane Warren Facilitates The Rescue Of The Last Cow That Escaped From A Slaughterhouse In California On Tuesday Evening

Thursday, June 24th, Update:

WAN has learned that Grammy award-winning songwriter, longtime animal advocate, and vegan Diane Warren has facilitated the release of one of the last 40 cows that escaped from the Manning Beef Slaughterhouse in Pico Rivera, California, on Tuesday evening. Animal rights activist Simone Reyes told WAN that Warren is among those involved in sparing the life of the cow that was captured earlier this morning near the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area.

As per Reyes, the cow will be transferred to Farm Sanctuary in Acton, California, within a few days.

“Seeing these cows escaping their horrible fate broke my heart. They knew what awaited them. These are smart empathetic beautiful souls. This morning I saw there was one that still avoided capture and was crying out as the man from the slaughterhouse was trying to capture her. I immediately reached out to my friend Simone Reyes saying we need to save her. And we did,” explained Warren. “What Paul McCartney said is so true, ‘if slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.'”

“I’m so grateful that this special cow, that I’ve named FREE, will now live her life in peace and with friends at Farm Sanctuary,” concluded Warren.

Wednesday, June 23rd:

Last night, 40 cows escaped from the Manning Beef Slaughterhouse in Pico Rivera, California. Captured on video, the terrified animals were running for their lives through a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Sadly, one cow was shot by a responding deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

As per a statement sent to WAN from the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Information Bureau, 38 of the 40 cows were captured from a residential neighborhood over a mile away from the facility. They have all since been recovered and returned to the slaughterhouse.

“The disturbing and horrific scenes that played out on live TV showed the true faces of the meat industry – gentle cows who want desperately to live and who, when presented with a sliver of an opportunity for freedom, ran for their lives,” Simone Reyes, an animal rights activist who has helped save the lives of many farm animals by relocating them to credible sanctuaries, told WAN. “We hope that people who found themselves rooting for the cows to escape will go plant-based and be a part of the solution instead of perpetuating the problem.”

According to Reyes, historically, when an animal runs for their life, as did these, they are usually allowed to be saved by a sanctuary. Since there were so many cows in this case, local animal advocates are rallying to encourage the slaughterhouse owner to release and spare the life of at least one.

This seems feasible as Anthony DiMaria, the President and CEO of Manning Beef Slaughterhouse made headlines in 2020 for relinquishing a cow and her calf to Academy award-winning actor and renowned animal advocate Joaquin Phoenix. The mother cow, named Liberty, and her calf, Indigo, were subsequently relocated to a sanctuary where they are spending the rest of their lives without the unconscionable threat of being slaughtered.

This afternoon, WAN talked with Ellie Laks, Founder of The Gentle Barn, who is trying to reach out to both the local sheriff’s department and Manning Beef Slaughterhouse to offer help and a possible refuge for any of the cows that the slaughterhouse may be kind enough to release to them.

“Over the years at The Gentle Barn, we have had relationships with slaughterhouses, auction houses, and stockyards that have enabled us to bring home either downed animals or those that have given birth,” explained Laks. “Now that this has happened, we are hopeful that these cows will find sanctuary as well and their happily ever after. We would gratefully open the doors to The Gentle Barn to as many of the cows that can possibly be spared.”

WAN and Peace 4 Animals join the many compassionate animal activists and rescue organizations that are advocating for the slaughterhouse to release as many of these poor cows to a reputable sanctuary as possible, and will continue to report on this developing story.

There are so many healthy and delicious alternatives to meat and dairy. Go Vegan!