Freedom-fighting cow captivates Germany

[Tender Branson]

German Fugitive Cow, Yvonne, On The Run

A runaway cow has captivated the attention of the media, police authorities, hunters, animal rights activists and even the Hindu community.

All eyes are on Yvonne, the six-year-old fugitive cow.



The mayhem began in May when Yvonne escaped from a farm in Muehldorf, Germany, where she was being prepared for slaughter, reports Der Spiegel.

Making a new life for herself, the cow settled into the woods, grazing the Bavarian countryside, until she jumped in front of German police cars. Authorities deemed her a traffic threat and permitted hunters to shoot her, which outraged animal rights activists, reports the Guardian.

Spurring a conflict between animal rights activists and hunters, an Austrian animal protection group jumped into the mix. Conflicting reports suggest that the group either has offered, or has already bought the cow from her original farm for 700 euros, according to The Local.

Animal rights activists have done everything they can to save her. Unsuccessful attempts include sending her best friend and her own family members into the wild. But, according to Reuters, "Yvonne only took a look at them from a distance before running away again."

Animal activists recently even brought in a bull named Ernst to try to romance the clever animal. But, according to the Mirror, they soon discovered that the bull had been castrated, and the idea was a flop.

The Guardian reports another one of their endeavors entailed consulting an animal psychic:

Franziska Matti, an animal communication expert from Berne in Switzerland, said she had managed to contact Yvonne using telepathy. "I spoke to her yesterday and she said that she was fine but didn't feel ready to come out of hiding," said Matti. "She said she knew that Ernst had been waiting for her but that she was scared. She said she thought that humans would lock her up and she would no longer be free."

The Hindu community recently issued a statement calling for German authorities to withdraw permission for hunters to shoot her, saying the decision was ill advised, according to ANI.

After grabbing headlines, MSNBC reported that a German newspaper created a Facebook page and offered a reward of over $14,000 to anyone who can capture Yvonne.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/16/german-cow-fugitive-yvonne_n_927258.html

[Tender Branson]

This is sooo great, I can`t even put it into words !

I´ve just read a news report in which the Bavarian police deployed helicopters with infrared sensors to find the cow in the woods ...

[republicanism]

Bavaria. I'm not surprised at all.

[dead0man]

What we do when cows get loose.   link

[Tender Branson]

What we do when cows get loose.   link

Put it on YouTube or something ?

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

this is what we do to FF cows in Texas:

[You kip if you want to...]

I saw the title and thought "that's no way to refer to the chancellor".

What a legend of a story though.

[Middle-aged Europe]

What do you mean by "captivates Germany"?

That's the first thing I hear about this BS.

[Tender Branson]

What do you mean by "captivates Germany"?

That's the first thing I hear about this BS.

In the sense of "in Atem halten" ...

[Franzl]

What do you mean by "captivates Germany"?

That's the first thing I hear about this BS.

In the sense of "in Atem halten" ...

perhaps: "keeps Germans on the edge of their seats?"

[John Dibble]

Franziska Matti, an animal communication expert from Berne in Switzerland, said she had managed to contact Yvonne using telepathy.

Ok... so how exactly does one get declared an expert in telepathic animal communication?

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Good on Yvonne!!!

[Franzl]

Franziska Matti, an animal communication expert from Berne in Switzerland, said she had managed to contact Yvonne using telepathy.

Ok... so how exactly does one get declared an expert in telepathic animal communication?

The German speaking area is very good at creating useless and worthless titles.

[Middle-aged Europe]

What do you mean by "captivates Germany"?

That's the first thing I hear about this BS.

In the sense of "in Atem halten" ...

perhaps: "keeps Germans on the edge of their seats?"

Yes, but which Germans? This forum is the only place I even heard about it.

[Tender Branson]

The search for Yvonne, the six-year-old cow that dashed to freedom just before she was to be transported to a slaughterhouse in southern Germany, has been called off. The cow has become a star, drawing international attention to Zangberg, the Bavarian commune where she made her escape.

Yvonne has been at large since May 24. But she made headlines in late July, when she ran across a highway and nearly collided with a police car. That led authorities to deem her a threat — and they issued a call for hunters to shoot the cow on sight.

That order was later suspended, partly due to a public outpouring of support for Yvonne. But Monday, the local government made the suspension permanent — and forbade anyone to hunt her with deadly force.

"The Mühldorf district office requests that the animal not be disturbed in its current habitat," according to an official statement relayed by Der Spiegel.

Here's a rundown of the tools used to track this savvy cow:

    * Hunters on a shoot-to-kill mission (since called off);
    * Search parties of volunteers trying to find the cow before the hunters did;
    * Helicopters using thermal imaging cameras;
    * A reward of 10,000 euros ($14,533), offered by Bild, a German tabloid;
    * Entreaties delivered via animal psychic, who relayed that Yvonne "didn't feel ready" to return to the world of humans.
    * Bovine lures, including an (allegedly) attractive bull ox, her "sister cow" Waltraud, and Yvonne's calf, Friesi.

But all to no avail. In the end, Yvonne was deemed to be "as nimble as a weasel" by animal sanctuary CEO Dieter Ehrengruber, according to Bild.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/08/29/140036762/freedom-for-yvonne-germanys-runaway-cow-search-called-off