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COW

French cow who fled abattoir is spared

A young cow which fled an abattoir to avoid being slaughtered has been saved by well-wishers, a French animal rights group announced on Saturday.

French cow who fled abattoir is spared
Photo: Pascal Pavani / AFP

The heifer made a last-ditch effort to save her life at an abattoir near Ambert, southeastern France, on June 30.

The desperate animal rampaged through the building and got outside, taking refuge in the grounds of a nearby hospital.

She was tranquilised with a dart gun — a move that gave her a stay of execution because the drug made her meat unfit for consumption.

Dubbed “Cornette” (Little Horn) and “The Cow Which Refused To Die,” she became an Internet celebrity.

Stephane Lamart, who runs an animal rights group, joined with a French singer and actress, Stone, to raise money to save her.

“This cow is a symbol,” Lamart told the AFP news agency.

“It shows that animals do have emotions and consciousness, and can feel stress and sense the smell of death. We wanted to give her a second chance.”

 Well-wishers paid Cornette's owner 1,500 euros ($1,650), plus another 500 euros to transport her to the Paris area.

 Cornette — now pregnant — will spend the rest of her life with her calf at a farm in Montmagny, near Paris, which teaches urban schoolchildren about rural life.