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Farmer turns killer Nazi cows into 'tasty' sausage

The Heck cattle were bred by the Nazis in an attempt to recreate the extinct auroch breed of wild bulls.

By Ben Hooper
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EXETER, England, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- The first British farmer to own a herd of Nazi-engineered Heck cattle said he had to turn seven of the aggressive cows into sausages.

Derek Gow of Devon, England, said he imported 13 Heck cattle in 2009, but he recently had to send seven of the animals off to be turned into sausages because the hyper-aggressive cattle kept trying to attack any humans who came close.

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"The ones we had to get rid of would just attack you any chance they could. They would try to kill anyone. Dealing with that was not fun at all. They are by far and away the most aggressive animals I have ever worked with," he said.

Brothers Heinz and Lutz Heck, German zoologists, created the breed on a commission from the Nazi party in the 1920s. The cattle were bred from German descendants of the aurochs, an extinct species of wild bull.

The cows were bred with Spanish fighting cattle, Fresians and Simmentals "to give them the shape and ferocity they wanted."

"The reason the Nazis were so supportive of the project is they wanted them to be fierce and aggressive," Gow said.

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He said peace has returned to his farm since the seven cows were turned into "very tasty" sausages he compared to venison.

"Since they have gone it is all peaceful again. Peace reigns supreme on the farm. Despite these problems, I have no regrets at all. It has been a good thing to do and the history of them is fascinating," he said.

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