Fugitive cow becomes movie star

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Yvonne, the German cow who achieved international fame last summer while she evaded searchers in helicopters and on all-terrain machines for 90 days, is about to become fodder for a Hollywood-style animated movie.

The movie will be made by Munich film company Papa Loewe and produced by Max Howard, who produced "The Lion King." Reports indicate that the story line has the cow falling in love with a buck.

Yvonne was destined for the slaughterhouse when she jumped an electric fence and made a run for the Bavarian woods. After bolting in front of a police car, authorities deemed her a public hazard and hunters were given permission to shoot her on sight. Searchers used helicopters, thermal heat-seeking cameras, and even enticed her to return by staking out her own calf.

The Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary bought her from the owner while she was still on the loose and took the lead in trying to find her. Eventually, she wandered onto a farm and was reported by the owner. After being shot with a tranquilizer gun, she was positively identified by her ear tag.

Yvonne was described variously as a "farm yard fugitive" and a "cow on the lam" and drew international attention.

When CBC Radio reported on the movie development in April and polled listeners for a comments, 751 listeners, a third, said they would watch the movie, 320 (26 per cent) said they wouldn't and 118 (9.2 per cent, including a Better Farming reporter) said they weren't sure.  BF