Bart De Temmerman and Marloes Mangelmans doing a Caesarian birth on a Belgian Blue cow on a small family farm near Ghent, Belgium.
Belgian Blues are a breed of cattle native to Belgium with a natural genetic mutation producing double muscles and an increased ability to convert feed into lean muscles. They are prized for their meat production in a country with a limited amount of land for grazing. Belgian Blue calves have significantly greater birth weight, and some 95% require delivery by Caesarian section. This is typically done on the farm by a veterinarian for about €110 while the cow is standing and fully conscious. They use local anesthesia as the cows have no sensory nerves in their abdominal organs, and the procedure is relatively quick and painless. Purebred Belgian Blue cattle are illegal in Germany, Switzerland, and some Scandinavian countries, where the breed is considered unethical.
- Filename
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- ©2023 George Steinmetz
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