8 July 2022
The day of honour of the cow
From the perspective of Gut Aiderbichl
Written by Gisela Pschenitschnig
What remains unforgettable for me is a guided tour in Henndorf, where a little girl took me by hand during the tour. She hung on my lips and did not want to understand why "the beautiful cows are eaten". After a few years, she visited the animals of Gut Aiderbichl again and said: "Do you remember me? I was on your guided tour with my grandparents and you told me about the cows and pigs. I decided then never to eat meat again in my life!".
The cow is smart and remembers the voices of its people
Nature doesn't "do" stupid things - everything has a purpose. Cows are intelligent and highly social animals and are also revered in many cultures. In some cases, owning a cow is thought to be the oldest form of wealth. The billion-dollar industries whose basis is cattle farming are getting rich in any case.
Long gone are the days when a farmer still had three cows in his barn. With their milk, he provided for his family and every two to three years a cow was slaughtered on the farm. Today, a "turbo-milk cow" is no more than 5 years old and then the calves and the milk production are over. The last road leads to the slaughterhouse.
The pain of separation after calving
Immediately after calving, most calves are separated from their mothers. Calves without a mother to cuddle and suckle are nervous, make more noises or stick their heads out of the barn looking for something. In large barns, the bond between the cow and her calf lasts a few days at most, then the animals are separated. Many of the calves go to the igloo for rearing and after a few weeks to the slaughterhouse.
Our Ruby came to Henndorf and really got to know the four calves here. Baba came to us with her slightly impaired calf Lotte. These two wonderful cow families prove to us how much love and good company cows are capable of.
Ferdinand with five legs and his friend Gustl
Little Ferdinand, who we took in with five legs, and his best friend Gustl have been at Gut Aiderbichl for about three months now.
The fifth leg on Ferdinand's cervical spine was surgically removed. His and his friend Gustl's horns are growing and will soon reach three to four centimetres. Of course, we will not let them burn away, because we have learned how important the horns are for the cattle: for orientation, for heat regulation in the body, for fighting and also for gas digestion in the cattle's body.
It is not about sentimental cuddly animal mentality
How many times have I wanted to overtake a "live animal transporter", stop and release all the calves. No matter whether calf, cow or bull - cattle are highly sensitive and intelligent and roar and fight back when they get closer to the slaughterhouse, because they smell what is coming. The consumer should rethink and not exploit and "burn" cattle as a mass commodity.
I look forward to the next tour with you to our calves Ferdinand and Gust.
Sincerely,
Your Gisela
