A long-standing element of ufo/paranormal conspiracy theory, cattle mutilation has been reported in the United States for several decades. Here's some FOIA documents relating to the FBI's investigation (and discussions of whether they had jurisdiction to investigate) from the 1970's. All links are PDFs: cattle1.pdf, cattle2.pdf. cattle3.pdf, cattle4.pdf,cattle5.pdf.
posted by rmd1023 on Nov 3, 2009 - 29 comments

Using images from Google Earth, scientists have determined that grazing cattle and deer align themselves with the Earth's magnetic field.
posted by Knappster on Aug 25, 2008 - 89 comments

The unprecedented slaughter of over 1600 of Yellowstone's bison this winter (resulting in a 50% decrease in the overall size of the herd) will go down as the largest wild bison kill since the 19th century. Despite vehement protests and bold acts of civil disobedience instigated by the Buffalo Field Campaign, the slaughter will continue according to the tax-payer supported Bison Interagency Plan - the goal of the plan being to prevent economic losses from the unlikely spread of brucellosis (a cattle disease) from Yellowstone bison into Montana and Wyoming's livestock. TERRA aired a gripping three-part 'fly-on-the-wall' film series chronicling the story: ONE, TWO, THREE. [more inside]
posted by huckhound on May 9, 2008 - 39 comments

Horns: how big do you like them?
posted by Wolfdog on Mar 27, 2008 - 29 comments

Undercover video (warning: very graphic) released by the Humane Society reveals abuse of animals on the slaughterhouse floor and other code violations. [more inside]
posted by casarkos on Feb 1, 2008 - 75 comments

Lurch has very big horns.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese on Aug 26, 2007 - 21 comments

Over 1100 cattle have died in South Dakota in the last few days due to high temperatures and humidity. This is certainly not the first or even the worst event of its kind. Some are saying they were caught off guard, but warning signs are common. For the most part, only confinement cattle are being affected despite extremely high temperatures all over cattle range lands in the US and Canada.
posted by limmer on Jul 26, 2007 - 17 comments

Kulning: "Kulning is an archaic style of singing/cattle call, traditionally employed outdoors in the grazing pastures of Scandinavia from the Middle Ages to this day. It consists of shepherdess's tunes, calls and tones of enticement, mainly used to keep contact with, and to call the cattle, but also to communicate with other people over long distances". Examples: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. (related MeFi post)
posted by dhruva on Feb 14, 2007 - 17 comments

The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow. A documentary about Temple Grandin (previously discussed here and here.) [Via MindHacks.]
posted by homunculus on Dec 18, 2006 - 42 comments

If you're going to to break into the cowboy business, this is as good a place as any to do it. [more inside]
posted by mr_crash_davis on Oct 30, 2005 - 8 comments

Back in April monju_bosatsu posted something on FEMA and the REX 84 Program and Concentration Camps in the U.S. So Katrina hits, the news reports talk about how bad the evacuee (or 'refugee' for you racist bastards) camps were, people dying from stomach flu at the Astrodome and Russ Kick is chewing over the impact of possible escaped monkeys from the level three infectious disease biolabs in NOLA, the authorities bar the Red Cross, but Blackwater gets the go-ahead, FEMA is under homeland security and chunks have been 'privatized'... REX 84 was a plan to suspend the Constitution in the event of a national crisis like a major disaster, massive internal dissent, or national opposition to a U.S. military invasion abroad requiring martial law. Trifecta anyone?
posted by Smedleyman on Sep 11, 2005 - 68 comments

Delightful photographs of pigs, cattle, sheep, and horses by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. (Previous discussion of his aerial photography.)
posted by Wet Spot on Aug 21, 2004 - 10 comments

After reading that beef has been recalled from my local grocery store, I spent some time reading Mad Cow USA a book written back in 1997 but not widely published because of fears of repercussions under the Texas food disparagement act. AlterNet has an article written by one of the book's authors summarizing some of the key points of the book. Some claim that only ground beef is infected, while others claim that's bull. mad-cow.org has a lot of good information on the topic, and it seems the powers that be are going to blame Canada.
posted by woil on Dec 30, 2003 - 14 comments

"I guess any self-respecting rancher would have shot, shoveled and shut up, but he didn't do that". An annoyed Premier of Alberta Ralph Klein was quoted saying this on Sept 17th, 2003 at a weekend meeting of U.S. governors and western Canadian premiers in response to the discovery of one case of mad-cow found in his province.
Fast forward to today: USDA refused to release mad cow records , United Press has been requesting these documents since July 10th, 2003 and has been continually stonewalled as recently as Dec 17th ,2003. Especially troubling is the question of where the Canadian mad-cow possibly originated.
posted by CrazyJub on Dec 24, 2003 - 25 comments

Maasai Present Cattle to US Ambassador
To mark September 11, people of Enoosean, a Maasai (Rift Valley Province, Kenya) village, have presented 15 heads of cattle to a visiting US ambassador, William Brencick. The presentation was organized by a Maasai medical student who was visiting New York on September 11.
    Brencick said the embassy would find it difficult to ship the cattle to the United States and had decided to sell the animals to raise funds to buy beadwork made in the village for display at a September 11 memorial in New York. (1)
posted by rschram on Jun 3, 2002 - 18 comments

''That's a handsome looking beef you've got there.'' (NYT)
Long and involved explication of something I've always wanted to do: raise a cow from birth to slaughter inside of an american factory farm. How does a cow get from being a cute little cow to my dinner plate? Is it safe? Is it moral? Is it yummy?
posted by zpousman on Mar 30, 2002 - 31 comments

Finally, some genetic modification I can sink my teeth into! Wired reports this morning that an Australian researcher has identified the genetic characteristics for "tenderness" and "toughness" in cow muscle tissue. Aussie cattle ranchers are already gearing up to produce animals that result in more tender, juicier beef. I'm drooling already.
posted by briank on Aug 22, 2001 - 14 comments

Foot and mouth disease in cattle is not the same as Hand, foot and mouth disease in humans. This, I found out only today.
posted by ajbattrick on Feb 27, 2001 - 4 comments

I bet you didn't know you could buy livestock online.
posted by endquote on May 19, 2000 - 3 comments