Post by Maria Godoy, The Salt at NPR Food (3/3/2014)
Ah, cows. They're big, lumbering, earthbound beasts, right? But sometimes, Bessie and pals just have to get airborne.
That gif of dairy cows "jumping for joy" is from a video that's been making the rounds on the Internet. We spotted it last week when food journalist Michael Pollan tweeted it out:
Sweet video: Cows Literally Jump For Joy After Being Freed From A Dairy Farm Into An Open Field Again http://t.co/hvyNKyYQAI
— Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan) February 24, 2014
Turns out, the cows pictured hadn't just been "freed from a dairy farm," as the title of the video suggests. Still, they had quite a history. With their milking days behind them, these dairy cows had been headed to the slaughterhouse, according to the video's subtitles (it's in German). But an animal welfare group called Kuhrettung Rhein-Berg stepped in to offer the cows a retirement home. In this video from the group, we see the animals relishing their release from their winter housing into the great outdoors.
It's a moving scene, given the cows' backstory. But is it "literally jumping for joy," as the title puts it?