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Once a year in the Valais region of Switzerland a unique event takes place. The town of Martiny
hosts an unusual battle to mark the Valaisan fair-the battle of the queen of cows. The
Herens cow is the oldest breed in the Alps. It is the cow most adapted to the mountain
conditions and because of its genetic heritage it is a fierce fighter with a short temper.
The battle for "Queen of Cows" comes from the alpine pastures where cows wrestle naturally.
Someone decided to make them fight in a town and this has been going on since 1915.
This bell is the prize but the most important thing is the quality recognised to the animal
and thus its offspring.
Farmers come from all parts of the Valais with their cows in the hope of winning the
Queen of Queens prize. The cows are led into an old roman arena where the fights take place
under the eyes of thousands of spectators.
A battle can last a few seconds just as it can go on for half an hour.
Today we are lucky to have great sunny weather, cows that are fighting well, so everything
is going perfectly.
There has been some controversy in the 1980's with animal welfare groups but it was proven
that most injuries were superficial, if any. Therefore no action was taken.
The difference between Spanish bull fighting and what you see here is that this is only
a heirarchy being put in place between the animals. In Spain it is a fight between man
and animal. So there is a notable difference.
There are five categories in cow fighting. The first three categories are determined
by weight and age. Cows that have given birth once enter the fourth category and those over
two and a half years' old that have yet to reproduce enter the fifth.
The lighter categories, and those with young cows, are more technical but the heavyweights
are more interesting and it's quite impressive to see these massively powerful beasts.
The crowds cheer as the doors open in the arena to let in the heavy weight fighters
the moment everyone has been waiting for.
Cows of up to 800kg wrestle each other in fearsome battles. The cow is declared defeated
once it refuses battle- a sign of submission.
This years first categories queen is a 700kg cow called Samantha.
She really deserves the win this year. She gave her best, even in the pastures- she gave
everything she had.
Another successful event draws to an end but can this tradition survive in an ever changing
world?