Mad Cows in Switzerland

You’ve probably heard of Mad Cow Disease, and how it was originally linked to England. Well, last week we witnessed a few mad cows who were not diseased and who were living in the alps of Switzerland. We were staying in Saas Grund, Switzerland for a retreat related to our work, and we happened to be there the same time that Saas Grund was having its annual Cow Fighting contest. We were fortunate (?) enough to be able to witness this very interesting event. Here’s how it worked: Around 40 cows were chosen to participate. They were all painted with varying numbers (so that they could easily be identified) and then enclosed in a large pen where they could just go at it! For you animal lovers out there, it was really just a horn-locking and shoving match. A few brave referees were also in the pens with the animals to ensure that only two cows fought at one time and no cow could come at another cow from the side. At the end of the day, the winner was the one who did not back down from any of her adversaries (these are COWS, not bulls!). The owner of that particular animal – which turned out to be #38 – has bragging rights for the year. For more on this, go here.