A German farmer has been putting nappies on his cows in protest at EU legislation that forbids the use of fertilizers on steep slopes. With no bovine-sized diapers available from the local store, white bed sheets with pink ribbons had to suffice.
The idea was the brainchild of Bavarian cattle farmer Johann
Huber, who became fed up with an EU directive that did not allow
farmers to fertilize slopes steeper than 15 percent. With cow
droppings in theory counting as fertilizer, he sarcastically
decided to try and abide by EU regulations by making sure that no
cow droppings managed to land on the pristine Bavarian slopes.
Here are two cows preparing to sumo wrestle. #eumadnessItellyoupic.twitter.com/MXFtrmrdHP
— Ed Balls (@eddbaIlsmp) October
9, 2014
Huber, whose family farms land near Lake Tegernsee, an hour south
of Munich, made sure all 18 of his dairy cows were fitted with
the new attire, while he said that Doris the cow “behaved well,”
speaking to the Telegraph newspaper. However, Mr. Huber had to do
a little improvisation, as regular diapers for children were not
going to fit an adult cow.
“We have no standard nappies,” he said. “They haven’t been
developed commercially yet.”
Another farmer, Niklas Saenger, told the Star that the EU
legislation to ban fertilizers on steep slopes was “ridiculous”
and “not practical.” He said it was almost as if the farmers were
“expected to go along with a shovel and clear up” after their
cows.
Farmers who fail to adhere to the EU legislation could face
losing their subsidies, while the Telegraph says that Brussels is
going to take legal action against Germany for being a serial
offender in not implementing the fertilizer ban.
“We demand that Germany stops this ban,” Anton Kreitmair,
president of the Upper Bavaria Farming Union, at Wednesday’s
protest. “Slurry and dung are not pollutants, but valuable
fertilizers.”
Farmers in the southern German region are particularly worried
because of the hilly topography of the area, which means a large
area of farmland or grazing land has a gradient of more than 15
percent. This could also affect vineyards, with Kreitmair adding
that half the grapevines in Bavaria would no longer be able to
use manure to enhance their growth.
“Mountain farmers have a major role in ensuring that the Alps are
one of the most sought-after travel destinations. Federal and
state politicians need to ensure that the conditions continue to
allow farmers to meet their many social duties,” The Local
reported Kreitmar as saying.
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