Before You Apply

We love finding safe, lifelong homes for our cows and calves, but Companion Cows is run by volunteers. Every application takes time to review, discuss and follow up, so before submitting yours, please make sure you can genuinely meet our basic adoption requirements.

To adopt from Companion Cows, you must have:

• Secure fencing ideally with electric fencing or an electric offset suitable for cows.

• At least 3–5 acres of usable grazing pasture per cow.

• Reliable access to clean water, such as secure troughs or a suitable dam.

• The financial ability to provide hay and supplementary feed through winter, drought or whenever pasture is insufficient.

• Appropriate facilities or access to facilities for safe veterinary care and handling.

• The ability to cover the cost of transport.

• A willingness to sign our Adoption Agreement and remain in contact with us throughout the cows' lives.

Most importantly — these cows are pets.

Our cows and calves are adopted into homes where they will be loved and valued simply for who they are.

They are strictly not to be milked, bred, used for food, sold for production or slaughtered. If your intention is anything other than providing a safe, loving home as companion animals, please do not apply.

Please don't waste our volunteers' time.

We say this because we care deeply about every animal who comes through Companion Cows.

We are a small team of volunteers balancing rescue, animal care, surrender enquiries and rehoming. Applications from people who do not meet the basic requirements above take valuable time away from helping cows and calves who need us.

If you know you cannot meet these requirements, please don't submit an application.

If you can provide what they need and genuinely want to welcome cows into your family for life, we would absolutely love to hear from you. ❤️

Adopting from Companion Cows is an incredibly special experience — both for the adopter and for the cow or calf being given a safe future.

Every animal who comes through Companion Cows has a different story. Some are calves rescued directly from the dairy industry and hand-raised by our volunteers. Some are older cows who have already spent years in the dairy system. Others come to us through our assisted rehoming program when their families can no longer keep them and need help finding a safe, permanent home.

For many of the cows and calves we rescue, their future would otherwise be very different.

In the dairy industry, cows must give birth in order to produce milk. Calves are commonly separated from their mothers shortly after birth, and male calves in particular have very limited value within the dairy system. Female calves may go on to enter the same production cycle as their mothers, while dairy cows themselves are ultimately valued according to their ability to continue producing milk and calves.

Our goal is to give the cows and calves who come through Companion Cows something different — a life where their value is not determined by what they can produce, but simply by who they are.

For others who come to us through surrender or assisted rehoming, adoption provides the security of knowing they can remain safe, loved and protected for the rest of their lives, even when their original circumstances have changed.

By adopting, you become part of that second chance. You are giving a cow or calf the opportunity to live as a companion animal — safe from breeding, milking, sale or slaughter — and to simply enjoy the life they deserve.

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ADOPTION CHECKLIST 

In order to continue our work, we require an adoption donation.
Adoptions will not be finalised until the donations have been received.  

Your donations not only save the lives of your new companion cows but also allow us to continue our mission by rescuing and rehoming others and providing vet care, transportation, feed and supplies for our foster carers. 

Adoption Donation

We ask adopters to make an adoption donation that reflects the work involved in giving cows and calves a safe second chance.

Every animal comes to us differently. Some are rescued and hand-raised by our volunteers, including bottle-fed calves requiring intensive daily care. Others come through our assisted rehoming program, where we help families safely surrender and rehome cows they can no longer keep. In every case, there is significant work behind the scenes — including rescue coordination, transport, foster care, feeding, veterinary care, administration, screening and finding the right forever home.

Your adoption donation helps us recover a small portion of these costs and, importantly, allows us to keep our surrender and rehoming support free for people who need help.

It also helps us continue stepping in for more cows and calves who may otherwise have very limited options for a safe future.

Adoption donations are not a purchase price. They are a contribution towards the ongoing rescue, care and rehoming work of Companion Cows.

Adoption Donation

Each calf has been hand-raised by our volunteers,given a health and temperament check, wormed, vaccinated, debudded and male calves have been desexed.

Bottle Fed Calves - $250 (These calves still require daily or twice-daily bottle feeding until they are 3 months old)

Please note calves must be adopted in pairs unless prior approval have been given for a single calf adoption*

Adoption Donation

Each calf has been hand-raised by our volunteers, given a health and temperament check, wormed, vaccinated, debudded and male calves have been desexed.

Weaned Calves - $300 (These calves no longer require bottle feeding but will need supplemental feed until 6 months old)

Please note calves must be adopted in pairs unless prior approval have been given for a single calf adoption*

Adoption Donation

We ask adopters to donate in recognition of the work we do. A lot goes into giving these cows a second chance — from rescue and transport to care while they wait for their forever homes. These donations help make that possible and allow us to continue offering a free service for people who need to surrender their cows. The adoption donation helps us recover a small portion of those costs and allows us to continue stepping in for more cows & calves who would otherwise have no opportunity to live beyond the system they were born into.

Please note cows must be adopted in pairs unless prior approval have been given for a single calf adoption*

Biosecurity is designed to protect your property from the entry and spread of pests and diseases. Additionally it is a safeguard for our adopters incase your animals ever get out. The local council will be able to check their ear tags and reunite them with their family! 

We require all adopters to have an active Property Identification Code (PIC). In Australia, anyone who owns animals considered 'livestock', including but not limited to cows, horses, alpacas, goats & sheep, must have a registered PIC and NLIS ear tags. All animals adopted through Companion Cows will come with NLIS ear tags and be registered to your property. If you do not yet have a PIC, please note that this is required before releasing any animals into your care, so an application must be made and a copy provided to support your application. We will happily walk you through the process if you have any questions.

Please click on the relevant state to find out more and apply for a PIC.

NSW

TAS

QLD

NT

ACT

VIC

WA

Please note to be an approved adopter; you will be required to have the following:

Shelter- A 3-sided shelter with a roof if you are adopting calves. Calves will need protection from the elements while they are young. As they grow, their need for a stable or built shelter will decline. While a stable or shelter large enough for adult cows is ideal, it is not necessary for the ongoing well-being of the animals you adopt. Lots of large shady trees or a one-sided shelter is enough to ensure your beloved bovines have protection from sun, wind and rain.

Fencing - Cattle-proof or standard fencing with an electric offset fence system/hotwire.

Note: While strong and bovine-proof fencing is essential, we highly recommend adopters introduce an electric fence or hot wire from a very young age. The earlier you can teach your new companion cows to respect the fence, the less trouble you will have with them damaging structural fencing or escaping as they become adults.  An electric off-set fence system or hot wire is relatively cost-effective and much cheaper than replacing or fixing structural fencing.   

Transport -  For calves we recommend a horse float or a box trailer with high sides, straw or rubber matt for flooring and a tarp overtop. Adult cows will require a licensed transporter to safely move them. 

COMPANION COWS ADOPTION AGREEMENT

This Agreement between Companion Cows ABN 18 662 421 481 (“CC”) and the Adopter is entered into solely for the lifelong care, welfare, safety and protection of the adopted animal(s).

Companion Cows is a not-for-profit cow rescue and rehoming organisation. Animals adopted through CC are companion animals and are not adopted for breeding, production, sale or slaughter.

Obligations of the Adopter

1. The Adopter warrants that they are over 18 years of age, are adopting on their own behalf, have provided accurate information to CC and have the ability, facilities, financial means and commitment to appropriately care for the animal(s) for the remainder of their natural lives.

2. The Adopter acknowledges their responsibility to maintain a valid PIC and comply with all applicable NLIS identification, movement and record-keeping requirements.

3. The Adopter agrees to take all reasonable measures to ensure the lifelong welfare of the animal(s), including appropriate fencing, water, feed, shelter, companionship, handling facilities and veterinary care.

4. From the adoption date, the Adopter accepts responsibility for all veterinary and ongoing care costs unless otherwise agreed in writing by CC. If an animal becomes unwell within 48 hours of arrival, CC must be notified. Where CC agrees to fund veterinary treatment, CC reserves the right to be involved in decisions relating to that treatment.

5. Ownership and lifelong protection

Upon completion of the adoption, legal ownership transfers to the Adopter. However, CC retains an ongoing and lifelong welfare interest in the care, placement and outcome of the animal(s).

The animal(s) must not be sold, gifted, leased, loaned, surrendered, rehomed, transferred or otherwise disposed of without the prior written consent of CC.

If the Adopter can no longer provide appropriate care, CC must be contacted and the animal(s) must either be returned to CC or rehomed only as approved by CC.

Any unauthorised transfer or disposal is considered a serious breach of this Agreement. The Adopter may be responsible for reasonable costs incurred by CC in recovering and protecting the animal(s).

6. The animal(s) must never be bred, milked for production, used for meat production, sold through saleyards or auction, sent to a livestock agent, exported live, slaughtered or sent to an abattoir.

7. Adoption donations are non-refundable where the Adopter changes their mind or circumstances and decides not to proceed with the adoption, unless otherwise agreed by CC.

8. Unless otherwise agreed, the Adopter is responsible for transport. All transport arrangements must meet any reasonable welfare and safety requirements set by CC.

9. The Adopter agrees to maintain reasonable communication with CC throughout the life of the animal(s) and provide updates when reasonably requested. Where CC has a genuine welfare concern, the Adopter agrees to cooperate in resolving that concern.

10. CC makes no guarantee regarding the future health, temperament, behaviour or lifespan of the animal(s).

11. CC accepts no responsibility for illness, injury, death, escape, property damage or injury caused by the animal(s) after they are released into the Adopter's care, except where required by law.

Obligations of Companion Cows

CC agrees to:

• provide reasonable advice and support to the Adopter throughout the animal(s)' life; and

• assist with the safe return or approved rehoming of the animal(s) if the Adopter can no longer provide appropriate care.

The purpose of this Agreement is to ensure that every animal adopted through Companion Cows remains safe, appropriately cared for and protected from breeding, production, sale and slaughter for the remainder of their natural life.