In a life or death situation, many animals can come forward and show that they are extremely resilient.
Animals are often treated like they do not have the possibility to comprehend situations the way that humans do, but one cow proved that is just not true.
A red Limousin beef cow in southern Poland made headlines when she broke free during transport to a slaughterhouse and then she escaped.
Not only did this cow escape, she evaded capture completely and swam to her safety! Farmworkers failed to properly sedate the cow, which is how she managed to overpower them and run away.
The cow made headlines after a Polish politician, Pawel Kukiz, shared her story on Facebook. Pawel called her a hero.
“Yesterday, I posted an entry for a cow-hero who took off from transport to the slaughterhouse and has been moving around Lake Nyskiego for three weeks.
She fled heroically and swam to an island in the middle of the lake where she remains until today. She didn’t give up on firemen who wanted to transport her by boat, and she’s still on the battlefield. I believe that Mr. Luke-owner of the cow has been delivering food for the animal to the island for three weeks.”
Pawel said that he is no vegetarian, but the cow’s determination to escape had inspired him. He was determined to get the cow transferred to a safe location, like a zoo, but struggled with doing so.
The politician then decided that he wanted to buy the cow and bring her to live with him. He planned to get the proper help to do so.
While the cow was hiding on the little island on Lake Nyskiego, the farmer that raised her gave up on trying to capture her. Instead, he began visiting her to leave food for her.
Sadly, the situation wound up not having a happy ending after the month ran out. After weeks of hiding, she was shot with three sedatives to tranquilize her to bring her to safety.
However, she died in transit due to the stress of the situation, according to a report. A team of five, including a veterinarian, were on site to transport the cow at the time of recapture.
In the year 200, over 41,700,000 cows were killed for their meat to be consumed for food, according to the USDA.
The numbers had dipped into the mid-30 millions by 2008, but the mass consumption of cow meat has not taken a steady hit in the United States.
Fast food joints heavily contribute to these numbers. While McDonald’s does not own a slaughterhouse, as of 2013, the burger chain uses “70,000,000 pounds of beef per year, which averages out to approximately 190,000 pounds of beef daily.”
This particular cow was one of the more highly esteemed cattle breeds. Limousin “carcasses have up to 80% meat yields in some cases! The ratio of good beef to waste products like bone and fat is excellent.”
But after her death, it appears this cow thankfully was not used for her meat.
Pawel’s Facebook post has gotten almost 3,000 likes and over 300 comments. Many praised Pawel for bringing attention to the cow in need.
One commenter (who’s original comment was written in Polish and has since been translated) hoped that Pawel would be able to give the cow a happy retirement.
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