Dying farmer's unusual wish..
2004-12-03 09:32
Buch - Shortly before his death last month, a Swiss farmer made an unusual last request - to save his two cows from the slaughterhouse and put them in a retirement home.
The family of the now-deceased farmer even organised a church collection to save eight-year-old Maya and her four-month-old calf Toni, the organisers of the retirement scheme said Thursday.
"His son begged the priest to call for a collection so that the animals would not have to be slaughtered and our project could take over," said Reinhold Zepf, founder of the "Viva la Vacca" organisation, adding that the family wished to remain anonymous.
In return for a fee of 200 Swiss francs ($175) Viva la Vacca - Italian for "Long Live the Cow" - keeps cows from the abattoir and places them on farms where they no longer have to work producing milk.
Cows are iconic in Switzerland - they appear on everything from T-shirts to regional flags - and donations poured in from local farmers to save their two bovine friends from an unpleasant end.
"I was very moved by the story of Maya and Toni," Zepf said. "The cow is an important cultural commodity."
When the retired cows finally get too old or sick, doctors prescribe a painless injection which puts them to sleep.
That means Maya and Toni can now live the life of leisure in the green pastures of north-east Switzerland, safe from the slaughterhouse.
- AP