Whether a cow
in Queens, New York, running through busy streets to evade capture or a pig
trying to escape by jumping
off the back of a truck, animals often go to great lengths to avoid being
killed. But this
story of a cow in Poland takes things to a whole different level.
The cow escaped from a farm near Lake Nysa in
south Poland as the farmer, known as Mr. Lukasz, tried to load her onto a
truck and ship her to a nearby slaughterhouse to be killed for meat.
The cow made her great escape by breaking through a metal
fence and running toward the lake. When a farm worker tried to catch her, she
broke the worker’s arm, dived into the water, and swam to one of the islands in
the middle of the lake.
After a week of trying to catch the cow, the farmer gave up
and started leaving food to ensure the animal was fed enough to stay alive.
Local firefighters used a boat to reach the island, but the cow swam to a neighboring
peninsula.
Unable to capture the cow, the heartless farmer considered
having her shot, but local politician Pawel Kukiz stepped forward to rescue the
cow so she can live out her life in peace. Kukiz posted on Facebook last
Wednesday that he’d pay
for the cow to be saved.
According to Polish news magazine Wprost, Kukiz said:
I am not a vegetarian, but fortitude and the will to fight for this cow’s life is invaluable. Therefore, I decided to do everything to cause the cow to be delivered to a safe place and … give her a guarantee of a long-term retirement and natural death.
Many farmed animals fight for their lives, but most aren’t
as lucky as this cow. Just last week, a
steer tried to escape being killed by jumping off the side of a live-export
ship in Australia. Unfortunately, he died of exhaustion trying to swim to
shore.
Billions of cows, pigs, chickens, and fish are ruthlessly
killed for food every year, and many try desperately to escape their cruel fates. Despite
being just as sensitive and intelligent as the dogs and cats we
know and love, farmed animals are relegated to unimaginable torment:
filthy conditions, horrific mutilations, and a life of agonizing confinement.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: No animal
wants to die to become your food.
If you found yourself rooting for this cow but you’re still
consuming animal products, it’s time you aligned your food choices with your
values. Choose compassion and leave cows and all animals off your plate.
Click here to get started. And check out
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