Germans foiled by fugitive cow

Hunters, animal rights activists and even her best friend have failed to lure Yvonne the German cow back to the farmyard. Now they're bringing in the bull.

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German media have been fascinated by the tale of Yvonne, who ran away from a farm in Bavaria in May and was happily living off the land for months until she was put on a "most wanted list" for bolting in front of a police car.

Authorities ruled that Yvonne was a "security risk" after her close encounter with the squad car and hunters have been given permission to gun her down.

Yvonne has so far managed to evade everyone and the canny cow's escapades have become a hit on German TV.

Animal rights activists have tried to save Yvonne's life by bringing in her best cow-friend Waltraud as well as her own calf Waldi to lure her from her forest hideout. But Yvonne only takes a look from a distance before running away again.

The activists from the Gut Aiderbichl farm will now try to coax Yvonne with Ernst the breeding bull in the hopes of getting hold of her before the hunters do.

They've set up a luxury pen for Yvonne that has been surrounded by haystacks and fences, so if she walks into it, then she will finally be caught.

Ernst the bull has been strategically placed close to the pen to try and lure her into the area, if he is to her liking.

"We have said that because we have seen the cow here many times, that this area is her favourite place. Now we have set up a hayrack here, a sort of pen. She would be caught, if she were to come here to eat and at the back are some bushes and a forest where it is a bit smaller so she can go there and when she comes out the other side, Ernst the bull is there," Johann Wintersteller, an employee of the Gut Aiderbichl Animal Sanctuary, which bought Yvonne, told Reuters TV.

Officials have now fenced off the whole area and have imposed a 30km an hour speed limit through the forest to avoid any accidents with the runaway cow.

Many people may however ask why it is proving so difficult to catch the animal:

"She is very clever," explained Wintersteller. "If a cow spends a week in the forest, if it runs around freely, then it becomes extremely clever and can draw back. So it's behaviour is like that of a wild animal, like a deer or a roebuck."

A Facebook page has even been set up to support Yvonne's rescue. It already has more than 10,000 fans. The page is fronted by a picture thought to be that of the celebrity animal.

It's not the first time an animal has gone missing in Bavaria and become a star as a result. In the summer of 2006 a bear known as Bruno was chased for several weeks by hunters - and journalists. But despite protests from animal activists the bear was shot, and now a stuffed Bruno is on display at a Munich museum.

Activists will be hoping that Yvonne won't end up sharing Bruno's fate.


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3 min read

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Source: Reuters



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