"Animal killers and animal abusers": Off for the traditional cattle drive after hate mail
Created: 08/18/2022, 11:31 am
By: Tanja Kipke
The traditional cattle drive in Maierhöfen is history.
Animal rights activists protested vehemently.
Now the cattle are transported in trucks.
Maierhöfen – The 50th cattle drive in 2019 could have been the last in Maierhöfen (district of Lindau).
The traditional Almabtrieb of the cattle has been canceled in the last two years due to corona.
Now the festivities seem to be over.
In the Alpine region, Viehscheid means the migration of cattle into the valley to spend the winter in the stables.
The animals are decorated with wreaths and bells, and there is a big festival in the village.
Many tourists come to the region for this.
Animal rights activists have been complaining about the Alm-Abtrieb for years, since the 30-kilometer train down the mountain is too much of a burden for the cattle.
Now they were apparently successful with their hate letters and protests, in Maierhöfen it's over, as
BR
reports.
A tradition in the Allgäu: the cattle are driven into the valley at the Viehscheid.
(Archive image) © Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
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“Animal killers and animal cruelty”: Off for traditional Viehscheid in a Bavarian community
According to the
picture
, the farmers on the Hochgrat would receive hate mail from animal rights activists.
"Unworthy of animals" is the descent into the valley to Maierhöfen.
Alpmeister
Herbert Mader told
Bild
:
“The letters contained animal murderers, animal abusers and other insults.
There were also death threats.” The animals are the capital of the farmers.
"If we chase the young stock half dead down the mountain, we don't get anything out of it."
"The cows don't mind the lift and downforce," says another Alper with certainty.
A spokesman for the LMU clinic for ruminants sees it differently.
He explained to the
picture
that it happens that cows fall down on the way into the valley and break a leg.
The tar roads are not ideal either.
"It's a gruff tradition."
The farmers are more worried about being crammed together in the truck.
This is the alternative to the Alm drive.
In the future, the cattle will be transported down to the valley by truck on the farmers' own initiative.
According to the
Bild newspaper
, that costs 10,000 euros.
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Not only does tradition die, important economic factors also disappear
Although the majority of farmers themselves voted not to let the tradition take place in the usual form, feelings in the region are mixed.
The Viehscheid was associated with a lot of work and income, 60,000 tourists came to the Allgäu every year.
Not easy for wreath makers, bell makers and landlords of holiday apartments.
As the
BR
reports, instead of the big celebration around the Viehscheid, they now want to end the alpine summer with a three-day home festival from September 9th to 11th.
(tkip)
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