Bow-legged baby cow saved from slaughterhouse by kind farmer now kept as pet
An adorable bow-legged baby cow was saved from the slaughterhouse and is now living a happy life as a farmyard pet.
The three-year-old brahman calf was rendered useless after being born with ‘long bone deformity’ in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand, in 2018.
He was in a filthy enclosure waiting to be slaughtered and made into dog food – having been deemed not even good enough for humans to eat.
However, kind local farmer Manop Donboonthai noticed the calf and immediately took pity on him.
He paid 25,000 Baht (588 USD) to take the animal back to his yard – where he noticed his short stature and ironically named him ‘Giant’.
Giant has been living happily on the farm for the last two years.
Footage from Tuesday (March 23) shows him scampering around the yard with other cows, despite his difficulty walking.
Manop said: ‘I love Giant like a friend.
He doesn’t do a lot and he likes to lie down because he can’t walk far.
But he eats well and I know he’s happy.
I wouldn’t sell him for all the money in the world now.’ The farmer, a follower of Buddhist teachings, believes that rescuing Giant has been a good deed that he will be rewarded for in the afterlife.
He has also adopted a blind buffalo.
Manop added: ‘I bought Giant to save him from being sent to the slaughterhouse.
I felt sad for him and have taken great care of him.
‘When people saw how cute he has become, somebody offered to buy him for more than I had paid.
However, I refused because I knew they would not take care of him well.
Taking care of Giant is very easy, he can eat anything.’ Giant is suffering from long bone deformity, which has no cure.
The disease is caused by poor nutrition during pregnancy when the mother cow is overfed on silage during the winter months.
The calves are small due to the shortening of the long bones, which gives them a short, bow-legged, appearance.
In severe cases, they have to be put down.