Four cows die after German activists free them from organic farm

Published on: September 12, 2018

Four cows die after German activists free them from organic farm… and the animals immediately head to the feed area and eat themselves to death

Dozens of dairy cows were freed from their pens at an organic farm in Germany
They went to the concentrate feed area and ate up to 10kg of the substance
Four cows died and a further 40 are in a critical condition and need treatment

By Khaleda Rahman For Mailonline

Published: 11:49 BST, 12 September 2018 | Updated: 12:41 BST, 12 September 2018

Four cows died after they were freed from their pens at an organic farm by German activists – and ate too much concentrated feed.

A further 40 cows are in a critical condition after they ate up to 10kg of feed at the Liebenwalder Agrar farm in the state of Brandenburg, the Berliner Zeitung reports.

It is thought the suspects, thought to be animal rights activists, trespassed onto the farm and released the dairy cows and calves between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Four cows died after they were freed from the pens at an organic farm and ate up to 10kg of concentrated feed. Stock photo

Four cows died after they were freed from the pens at an organic farm and ate up to 10kg of concentrated feed. Stock photo

The cows then made their way to the concentrate feed area and ate up to 10kg of concentrated feed. They are normally give a maximum of 2kg a day.

Anja Schiemann, the farm’s managing director, told the newspaper: ‘Too much concentrate feed causes the digestive system in the rumen to be severely disturbed.

‘The damage to the liver is just too much.’

Schiemann added the loss of four cows as well as the deteriorating health of so many others will cause the farm to suffer financially.

The suspects, thought to be animal rights activists, trespassed onto the farm and released the dairy cows and calves between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Stock photo

The suspects, thought to be animal rights activists, trespassed onto the farm and released the dairy cows and calves between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Stock photo

The farm has offered a €1,000 (£890) reward for information that could lead to the capture of the suspects.

Police are also investigating the incident.