Drivers Stunned as Escaped Cows Raced Down a Highway in Indiana

Earlier this month, drivers in Indiana were met with the shocking sight of about 75 cows racing down the highway. The 10-month-old cows had reportedly escaped from an Indiana farm. Melissa Kuczmanski, who was driving with her son that day, said, “It was kind of a joyous moment.”

How the young cows escaped the farm is unclear, but they stuck together and ran for miles. They were eventually captured by law enforcement, firefighters, and passersby and returned to the farm. Fated to be sold into the dairy industry, these cows will likely never taste freedom again.

The 75 cows in Indiana weren’t the only escape artists to make the news this month. Last week, a clever cow in Vermont was captured on video opening an electric fence. The footage, which has now been viewed over four million times, shows the cow unclipping the wires of her pen with her teeth. Wylie Wood, who was working at the farm, said:

I’ve no idea how she figured it out unless she has watched us lifting the gate clear. I reattached the wire a couple of times just to watch her do it again, and sure enough she did.

According to reports, although her current name is H308, the farm intends to call her Houdini. Cows on Sunnymede Farm are raised and killed for Black Angus beef.

While these instances may be cute to onlookers, the reality is heartbreaking. Cows and other animals who escape farms are usually captured and eventually slaughtered. In 2018, a cow in Poland on her way to slaughter fled through a metal fence and swam to an island, where she lived for weeks. When she was finally caught, she died from stress.

Like humans, farmed animals value their lives and want to live in peace and comfort. You can make a difference for cows, pigs, and other animals by eating more delicious plant-based meals. Download our FREE Vegetarian Starter Guide to learn how.