Here's the situation:

The Wagner Farm (Glenview Park District) 4H group, the Glenview Clovers, have purchased 17 lambs and 10 piglets that are being kept at Wagner Farm. The lambs and piglets are being cared for by 4H members and are also used in various Wagner Farm/4H programs until the Lake County fair in July.

At that time, the lambs and piglets will be transported to the fair where they will be displayed in the hopes of winning awards for the Clovers and Wagner Farm.

After the judging, the animals will be sold at the fair auction where they will either directly or subsequently be sold for the express purpose of being slaughtered.

Additionally, the Lake County fair has been known to participate in an activity that is questionable in regard to safety known as mutton rodeo, where small children are given the opportunity to "ride" the lambs as is done with cattle in rodeos, before the lambs are sold for slaughter.

There are numerous issues involved in this situation not only in regard to the welfare of animals, but to what children are being taught in regard to their treatment of others, and how they are subliminally manipulated through the guise of entertainment and education to exploit others for their own personal gain and pleasure.

Much of the public is unaware of the brutality that animals face when they are sold for slaughter. The organization Mercy for Animals are quoted in their latest investigation into an Ohio factory farm processng plant as uncovering workers:

Violently punching young calves in the face, body slamming them to the ground, and pulling and throwing them by their ears Routinely using pitchforks to stab cows in the face, legs and stomach Kicking "downed" cows (those too injured to stand) in the face and neck - abuse carried out and encouraged by the farm's owner Maliciously beating restrained cows in the face with crowbars - some attacks involving over 40 blows to the head Twisting cows' tails until the bones snapped Punching cows' udders Bragging about stabbing, dragging, shooting, breaking bones, and beating cows and calves to death

These kind of conditions are not uncommon in the factory farm industry, and they are indicative of what other farmed animals, such as lambs and piglets, face before slaughter.
Both Wagner Farm and the Glenview Clovers, via their participation in buying and raising animals with the express intent to sell them for slaughter, are being active participants in the slaughter house industry. As this is a farm and 4H group in an urban area, many people find the programs to be "novel". Being totally inexperienced with the details of farm practices, they are unaware of the brutality of the welfare issues involved in these programs.

Anyone who objects to this situation needs to make their objections known to both the Glenview Park District and the local media.

Anne, who do we contact at the Glenview Park District to try to stop this sale? This is disgusting. I totally agree with you. The underlying message to our future adults is that animals are for abusing, and then they will think it's okay to be abusive to adults too. Maybe we can get a petition going to try to pressure them to not sell these babies. What do you think? I don't know if PETA would get involved. I'm also doing work for them as well.

I found the Park District's web site and just sent in an email asking for them to verify their intentions for the farm animals. I think an effective way to pressure them away from this decision is to launch a free online petition at thepetitionsite.com and then submit the petition results along with all the comments posted to the Board of the Glenview Park District. It would also be wise to request that the issue be raised for discussion at the next Town Hall meeting. Their would then have to be a grassroots effort to build awareness by Glenview residents and get them to attend the meeting.

Todd Price is the Director of the Park District and listed as the main contact for Wagrer Farms. See http://www.glenviewpa.... He can be reached at todd.price@glenviewparks.org.

Debby Rubenstein, founder of the Wagner Farm Rescue Fund, has tried to work with Todd Price and the park district for years and the situation on the farm has only deteriorated. There is probably some serious money to be made for profit as well as some strong political connections.

If the only Park District is contacted, the chances are that no one will ever hear about it and nothing will be done to help the animals. Therefore, I suggest that EVERYTHING sent to the park district be copied to the media as well - Glenview Announcements (Pioneer Press) and Glenview Journal, along with the Chicago newspapers and TV stations, since the Farm gets so many classes/camps from Chicago. Letters to the park district should be sent to both the Farm and the Glenview Park Board and the Village Board of Trustees.
We can also make the situation public to...

• the legislative representatives for Glenview (State Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, for example, who has been an empathetic ear)
  
• Chicago Public Schools adm. offices
  
• Facebook, meetup groups, etc.
  
• both regional and national offices of 4H since the 4H owns these animals
  

We will get the online petition started too - thanks, Robert, for the great idea!
Gerry, I don't know your exact connection with PETA, so do you think this particular issue would be of interest to them?

I would contact MFA - they are experienced Animal Rights organization and should know how to best handle the situation. This is exactly what the organization for, plus may also have enough funds and man power available to deal with the situation.
Here is some contact info to try:

HeatherP@MercyForAnimals.org or call 773.971.3895
AlexisS@MercyForAnimals.org or call 217.553.6880
MikaelN@MercyForAnimals.org or call 847.312.0349

Hope it will help.

I think Mercy for Animals would be of great help with this one. I forgot about them. I also think getting a petition going is an excellent way to put some pressure on the District. I'm not sure PETA would get involved in this one. They have bigger issues on their plate. How do we get the petition started?

http://www.thepetitio...

I have just created this Facebook group. Please join.
http://www.facebook.c...

Todd Price of Wagner Farm issued the following reply to my inquiry about the auctioning off of farm animals. I don't think it really addresses the opposition to the auction at all.

Greetings Sir,

My name is Todd Price and I am the director of Wagner Farm. I was passed your comments that were posted on our web site regarding the livestock at the farm. I would like to fill in some of the information that was omitted by the web site that you visited and share with you our intent to educate.

I am an eight generation farmer who has the privilege to work at one of the few remaining farms in all of Cook County, Illinois. I was charged by our Park Board 9 years ago to develop Wagner Farm as a historical site that would provide education about both our town's farming past and contemporary agriculture. My staff and I have produced many programs and events that relate these issues to our guests. Another program that is run out of Wagner Farm is that of 4-H. This is a program through the University of Illinois and all protocols and rules are strictly abided by. In 4-H, participants are encouraged to develop interests in projects and then take these projects to the county, and potentially, the state fair. The projects can run from rockets to cookies to livestock entries. Some of the livestock projects like bovine come home after the fair and take their place with the other cows. The sheep and pig projects are called market animals because they are raised not for breeding stock but for the food and fiber that they produce. At the end of the fair the participants, who are the owners, not Wagner Farm sell the animals. For many of the 4-Hers the proceeds of the sale go into savings accounts for things like college. The program is overseen by many qualified adults and care is closely monitored by 3 veterinarians who make regular visits to the site. The 4-H program is purely volunteer in membership and the participants fully pay for all related costs. In my youth I was a 10 year member of a 4-H club and I can tell you the lessons that I learned about responsibility, finance and hard work have stuck with me to this day. I hope that some of these same values are being passed to our next generation.

I hope that this has provided a little back ground to the programming at the museum. I would welcome the opportunity to give you a personal tour of the farm and show you how well the 4-Hers take care of the livestock.



Todd Price

Director of Wagner Farm