Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/herd-animals-sanctuary/

A group of herd animals roam free in the pastures at Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas, but their lives were not always this peaceful.

The ranch has 50 acres of land to wander, with trees, water and tall grass to hide in. They live in herds, which makes them feel more comfortable and secure.

Caregivers at the ranch make sure the animals always have everything they need, but they give them their space and don’t try to pet or tame them. They want them to live like wild animals would, except while giving them the safety that they need.

Every morning, Devin Case, one of the caregivers, drives around the pasture to check on all of the animals. The first group is fallow deer, and a few of them are getting older and sometimes have trouble walking around, so caregivers keep an extra eye on them.

These specific deer are commonly found in canned hunting operations. Canned hunting is a practice where animals are bred and raised for people to pay a certain fee to come in to guarantee a kill on that animal. A lot of times they are kept in pens so that the person paying for the entertainment is able to kill them easily.

“It’s unfortunate that these animals are in this situation to begin with,” Noelle Almrud, senior director of the ranch, said. “They should never have been raised around humans when they are a wild animal.”

Thankfully, the deer at Black Beauty Ranch are now safe and no longer have to worry about these cruel operations.

“Even though we work the same animals, every day is going to be different,” Case said. “And just seeing the change in them once they’ve been here for a little while is amazing.”

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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog