She refused to be cowed . . .

US readers may not have heard of the ongoing saga of Yvonne the cow. It started back in May this year, as the Guardian reports.

Yvonne, a six-year-old dairy cow, has, in the words of one newspaper, become “a kind of freedom fighter for the animal loving German republic” since she escaped from her field in the village of Zangberg, 50 miles north-east of Munich, on 24 May.

Having been fattened up, she was due to be dispatched when she managed to breach the electric fence surrounding her farm. For months she led a quiet life grazing among the fir trees of nearby forests, until she nearly came a cropper crossing a road into the path of a passing police car.

As word spread of this invincible cow, animal protection activists got involved, incensed that local hunters had been given permission to shoot Yvonne on sight. Gut Aiderbichl, an animal sanctuary over the Austrian border in Salzburg, agreed to buy Yvonne from the farm for €600 and has offered her a paddock with grass to graze on for the rest of her days.

Now a fight is on as the bovine protectionists are pitted against the trigger-happy Bavarians, who shot and killed Bruno, the first bear to be seen on German soil for 170 years, in June 2006.

Gut Aiderbichl are pulling out all the stops to catch Yvonne alive. Last week they enlisted the help of a bull called Ernst to try to lure her back home. Ernst has “a deep baritone moo that will appeal to Yvonne”, as well as a particularly manly musk, said the sanctuary’s founder, Michael Aufhauser. “He is the George Clooney of bulls.” Sex is not on the agenda, however, as Ernst is castrated.

Aufhauser also called on an animal psychic to communicate with Yvonne from afar. 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.”

There’s more at the link.

In response to the overwhelming public interest in the cow, the authorities took steps to ensure her safety. Der Spiegel reported over the weekend:

The district authority of Mühldorf am Inn in Upper Bavaria said on Friday it had revoked its permit to shoot the six-year-old brown-and-white dairy cow.

. . .

This is the news Yvonne’s army of fans have been waiting for. A Facebook page set up in her honor has over 27,000 friends, and media from around the world have devoting copious column inches to her adventures, possibly in a bid to feature some light relief from the Libyan war and financial market turmoil. Her celebrity status evidently helped to protect her.

Hindus Concerned For Yvonne’s Safety

Bild, the tabloid German newspaper, offered €10,000 ($14,500) for information leading to her safe capture, and provided almost daily coverage of the hunt, even paying a vet to examine one of her cowpats. He declared she was healthy and well-fed.

Prominent Hindus, for whom cows are sacred, weighed in with calls on German authorities to protect Yvonne. A Bavarian band has composed a folk song called “Yvonne You Wild Cow” and hopes it will become a hit at the Oktoberfest beer festival next month.

Again, more at the link.

However, Yvonne decided to co-operate with her well-wishers, and was recaptured peacefully last Tuesday. Bild reports (in German, translated by Google):

A farmer from Eigelsberg (Bayern) has captured the raging cow on Tuesday – and so even the reward of € 10 000 secured.

How did he do it, even after big-game hunter and [Lockbullen] failed?

Konrad G. Farmer (46) told BILD: “It was a lot of luck involved. I was about 18 at the clock with my daughter Melanie on one of our willow forest to check the fences. As Yvonne was suddenly in front of the fence, staring at the young cows. ”

The farmer continued, “When she saw us she ran back into the forest. We thought about what we do. At the end we decided just to open the gate. ”

While the daughter (13), the young cows in a pasture corner of distraction, Konrad Bauer ran crept through the woods from behind Yvonne.

The farmer: “I went very slowly, so gradually they’ve put out to pasture. She was noted to the stress of the past days. She was very nervous. ”

That’s really where cattle are trapped by the wild cow, says Hans Winter Plate (44) from “Aiderbichl”: “We have checked the number on the ear tag. It is our Yvonne.”

. . .

Yvonne [will] now spend her days on the farm animal protection organization, “Aiderbichl” in Deggendorf.

So the saga of Yvonne seems to have come to a relatively happy ending. At least she provided some warm fuzzy news to many in Germany, to balance the woes of the European currency crisis. Still, I can’t help but wonder what the Germans hoped to achieve, using a castrated bull to attract her attention. Yvonne didn’t fall for their plan, or the steer, so she clearly wasn’t as gulli-bull as they thought!

Peter