Cows get helicopter ride

Cows in Switzerland have been airlifted to the bottom of their Alpine meadows.

The strange spectacle saw a handful of the animals taken by helicopter off the mountain ridges in the Klausenpass region in the centre of the country. The bovines were suspended by a length of cable below the chopper as they were transported in mid-air, while farmers used guide ropes to help the cattle land safely. The cows were then moved into more conventional trailers, although some of the fitter animals made their way down the mountainside using their hoofs. Farmer Jonas Arnold told Sky News: “One reason for the helicopter transport is that you can’t reach some pastures by car, and the other is that some cows are injured, so they don’t have to walk all the way down.

“I didn’t ask a cow how it feels after such a flight as it couldn’t answer, but it’s only a short distance and it has to keep going. “It was only a short, calm flight. I didn’t notice any difference between the ones that flew and the ones that walked normally.”