Someone broke into the Morgan Hill FFA farm at Live Oak High School last weekend, released all the cattle and scribbled political slogans on the walls, according to sources.
On March 26, the vandal or vandals released an unspecified number of cattle from the Future Farmers of America farm on the East Main Avenue campus, according to Morgan Hill Unified School District Communications Coordinator Kimberly Beare.
“Luckily, none of the cows were injured,” Beare said in an email. Additional vandalism included broken tack boxes and graffiti.
A Morgan Hill FFA member who attends Live Oak wrote in a Facebook post that one of the graffiti tags on a wall read, “FFA KILLS.”
“We are deeply saddened about the vandalism that took place at the FFA farms, but we are thankful that the animals were unharmed,” Beare added.
Police responded to the scene shortly after the vandalism was discovered by school faculty and students March 26, but did not take a formal report, MHPD Cpl. Scott Purvis said, adding the damage was “minimal.”
But local students who participate in FFA, and spend substantial time at the Live Oak farm taking care of their animals, are distressed over the incident.
Ellie Fisher, 17, posted on the Facebook page “Morgan Hill CA Neighborhood Watch,” that one of the steers affected by the vandalism was hers. She described all the work she puts into caring for the animal, including spending her own money on feed, and working on the farm instead of attending school dances and going out with friends.
She and other FFA members plan to show cows, poultry and hogs at a livestock show in August—an event she has been preparing for since last year.
“In August, I will have spent thousands of dollars, giving my steer the best life he will ever have,” Fisher’s post read. “FFA does not kill. FFA teaches you leadership, independence and life lessons many will never have.”
She added that the released cows, which are on “strict diets,” could have over eaten and suffered health problems.
Fisher added, “This post is not made to do anything but stress the importance of education and protection of this industry.”
The March 26 incident marks the second time in less than a year that the Live Oak farm has been vandalized. In July 2016, someone broke into an enclosure that housed pigs on the farm. The vandal or vandals released all the pigs, which subsequently suffered a variety of injuries.
The farm will soon be equipped with security cameras that will offer remote surveillance of the farm, Beare added. In fact, the school expanded its network capacity recently to begin this process a couple of weeks ago.
“We are working as quickly as we can to provide the necessary security to the area to ensure the safety of the animals,” Beare said.
