“Antlers help against heat and against wolves!”

In 2018, mountain farmer Armin Gabal introduced “whole cows”.Hornkuh-initiative». Dehorning is on the one hand unnecessary, on the other hand Equal to a distortion. The effort failed spectacularly, but 45 percent of those who voted yes pulled away, saying a solution would be found at the legislative level. Kabal had already threatened With the second popular attemptBut a breakthrough with “Hörnerfranken” now has good chances Parliament.

of Council of State There is a dem “Hörnerfranken” as an animal welfare contribution Already agreed. Next week, the Economic Commission of the National Council will take up the motion Sp–Council of State Roberto Zanetti. Kabal seeks approval here as well. But in the meantime, cows that are no longer “whole” for other reasons have made headlines.

Beaver has a wolf pack Killed two dairy cowsThey became two young wolves Shot by a game warden. But Armin Kabal was by no means fighting against the cow-mutilating wolf. He turns the tables — or rather the horn — straight: “A cow with horns can defend itself against a wolf,” warns Kabal.

“Future farmers don’t learn this in agricultural schools anymore,” he laments Pensioner Active rest. Because he noticed that the horns of the dead cows were rotten. But it is also important that cow horns are the solution to another burning topic.

“Antlers also play a role in temperature balance,” says Gabal. Correspondingly worse if they disappear in the current heat. This is where the circle closes: “Cows can no longer be allowed to graze during the day. Not at night anyway, because of the wolf.”

Various letters reinforce Cabal’s view of things. A horn lover complains that the horns are there to protect them from predators.

“That means, you irresponsible eh…! First remove the horns from the cows and leave them to the wolves!” The facts are confirmed by experts and with less discovery.In fact, dehorning significantly reduces the ability of cows to defend themselves against wolves.

This is what zoologist Christian Schmidt writes in a letter to the editor. “Wolves are intelligent animals – after all, they are the ancestors of our dogs – remember this advantage.” They learned that dehorned cows were easier to catch than cows with defensive horns.

Schmidt knows what he’s talking about: he was the director of the Frankfurt Zoo for 14 years and devoted himself personally to dog breeding. Other enthusiasts of the subject express themselves in letters to the author in the same direction. However, in the wolf discussion, antlers are a feature that has not yet been mentioned. But they still get a chance ahead: Alpine shepherds sometimes scare off wolves with a foghorn.