Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

FARMING

Cow dies after sexual abuse by tractor thief

Police in Fribourg have released details about a 19-year-old man who sexually abused two cows, before leaving the barn in a stolen tractor.

Published: 2 March 2016 15:27 CET
Cow dies after sexual abuse by tractor thief
File photo of cows. Photo: Lindy Buckley/Flickr

One of the harassed cows died a day after the attack, while the other also sustained severe injuries but is likely to survive

Local police said in a statement that around 3am on February 21st, the man's moped broke down and he broke into a farm to find a means of transport.

They said: “He violently inserted his arm several times in the anus and genitals of two cows, before masturbating.” He then left the scene on the stolen tractor, before going to a female acquaintance.

The suspect was stopped by police in the historic town centre, following a chase as he drove the tractor around Fribourg with the friend. Traces of alcohol were found in his system and he had his driving licence seized before being charged with the theft of the tractor.

The next morning, when the farmer discovered the cows' injuries, he was also charged with animal cruelty. No charges have been brought against the suspect's friend.

Police said the man had admitted the crimes, and that “he said that he acted alone and was definitely under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident”.

The suspect is currently being held in custody, while a psychological expert will evaluate his mental state. The man was previously charged with 'offences against sexual integrity' when he was a minor.

Additional reporting by Raphael Warnke.

FARMING

Why Swiss consumers will pay more for milk from July 1st

Swiss consumers will be paying more when reaching for a glass of milk, or cafe latte over the second half of 2024.

Published: 28 June 2024 12:47 CEST
Updated: 1 July 2024 08:37 CEST
Why Swiss consumers will pay more for milk from July 1st

The change comes after the country’s dairy industry organisation, Branchorganisation Milch, decided to raise the indicative price of milk meant for drinking by three cents.

The new indicative price – that is to say, the median price set by the industry in selling to retailers – is 82 cents per kilogram, and only for the next two financial quarters. 

The price of milk used for food production such as in cheese of yoghurt will remain unchanged. 

The increase in price comes after farmers, predominantly in the country’s south-west, had waged a protest campaign to raise milk prices. 

In February, farmers across Switzerland gathered tractors in fields to spell out ‘SOS’, signalling the distress felt by farmers. 

Swiss farmers demanded prices that better reflect production costs, and would make the profession a viable in the long-term. 

As Arnaud Rochat, protest organiser and  a farmer from the canton of Vaud told SRF: 

“We want to be paid for what we produce at prices that take our costs into account. 

“It is still a problem when milk is cheaper than bottled water.

Concentrated mostly in the country’s French-speaking south-west cantons, the Swiss dairy industry is worth approximately CHF 2.5 billion, according to statistics repository Statista. 

SHOW COMMENTS