Dutch take action to save cow that escaped slaughterhouse

Many people in the Netherlands have taken action to save Hermien, a cow that escaped on her way to the slaughterhouse and has since been on the run in Lettele for six weeks. The Koeienrusthuis volunteered to take her in, animal party PvdD launched a crowdfunding campaign for her care. And farmer and owner Herman Jansen announced that the animal can be picked up for free, De Standaard reports.

Bert Hollander of the Koeienrusthuis - a home for cows that no longer produce - sees no problem in housing Hermien, but getting her there may be difficult. "She has been running free for six weeks now and you can count on her being very shy, apprehensive about every person that comes close to her", he said to the newspaper.

Veterinarian Joep Driessen told the newspaper that there's no need to worry about Hermien dying on her own in the Lettele forests. "In the forest there is enough to eat: branches, leaves grass."

The wrong approach was used to catch her, Driessen believes. Over the past weeks veterinarians tried to sedate her with a dart gun, and even a hunter was sent to shoot her. "But luring a cow is actually quite simple: all you need is other cows", he said to the newspaper. "The cow will automatically come to them: cows are herd animals. When they are all together, and have come to rest, you can hopefully load them on a car together."