Cows saved from slaughterhouse happy in the field!

[Tobi]

This is such a happy story:

http://mostamazingplanet.com/cow-finally...-must-see/

Thanks to the people who helped them.

[Catherine]

What a beautiful story. It is wonderful to see all those cows happy like that. After years of work they deserve a gentle retirement.
I watched the second video and I love how the cows groom themselves.
I think there is a lot I don't know about cows and what they are really like. I can see that they each have their own personality.

How wonderful that people have donated to make this all possible.

[LPC]

In France the cows are kept outdoors almost all of the time, except for milking time or overnight in winter when it very cold. I don't quite understand why in the video they had been kept in a shed so much of the winter. Germany is not so cold that it would not have been possible to release them to the fields on warmer days in winter.

The selling of older cows for meat is, sadly, the norm in almost all of the countries of the world. No chance of a gentle retirement is offered.

Good find, Tobi! It is lovely to see cows jumping for joy in fields. They are lovely, gentle creatures which deserve our protection and respect.

[Tobi]

I have actually seen this happen myself, where I live. In the south west UK, a dairy-farming area, the farmers usually bring the cows in during winter months. The farmer near me has constructed a purpose-built barn for them, and it is HUGE. There can be snow here, but it's not so much the freezing conditions, as the endless rain which can happen in winter here (certainly did LAST winter!) Fields become quagmires very quickly. It is pretty low-lying land. Cows can get embedded in the mud which can be 2ft deep! This is not good for them. Bringing them in and feeding them with silage is the best option of two horrible options.

Anyway during March the cows go out again. They dance for joy! Chase each other about, run like wild things. Their joy of being in Nature again is wonderful to watch.
I am so sorry for them really, but they have some brief times of happiness.

[Catherine]

I know how the cows feel. After a long winter, just walking outside feels good.
I know it is hard for farmers to provide a retirement for their animals, but I wish they could. Maybe be we need to change the system so that animals get a rest after years of work.