A South Bay school farm program got some high-tech security upgrades on Friday after being vandalized for the second time in a year.
Morgan Hill Unified School District officials said last weekend someone released about a dozen cows that were owned by Live Oak High School students. They don’t know if other students or maybe a neighbor is to blame.
“I think it’s disrespectful,” said student Samantha Avilla.
The freshman and a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) said she was relieved the cows weren’t injured and that they didn’t injure anyone else.
“We have to clean it up,” Samantha said. “We have to deal with the expensive animals that could have been hurt, ate things they weren’t supposed to.”
The vandals broke into the farm, which is next to the high school, let the bovines out of their corrals and spray-painted "FFA Kills" on the barn.
“If this was an act of sympathy for the animals, this was the wrong way to go about it,” said Kimberly Beare with the Morgan Hill Unified School District. “We don’t want the animals to be injured.”
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Beare said a similar incident happened over the summer when vandals released pigs from their cages. The pigs ended up fighting and injuring each other.
“If they were on the road and someone didn’t see them when driving at night, and they run into them, it can cause huge problems,” Beare said. “It can injure the animal, but it could also kill someone.”
Police have stepped up their nightly patrols of the area and the school district will now be installing surveillance cameras. Students’ parents hope whoever is responsible is caught. Until the surveillance system
“That’s hurtful because they do work hard,” said Tony Avilla. “They raise their animals and take pride in what they do.”
