Pigs fly? Cattle beat them to it

The first breeding cattle imported into England by air in decades have arrived safely from an Edmonton farm. The 10 Lowline heifers will help popularize the breed more than a century after its ancestors arrived in Canada. They will be bred using semen imported from Australia. Big Island Lowlines owner Paul Gotaas was first contacted last November by a breeder in Salisbury, southwest of London, interested in the super-efficiency of the smaller Lowlines compared with more popular breeds. Big Island's herd is certified Leukosis-free herd -- the first in Canada -- which is now a requirement to export cattle to the EU. In a note to the Gotaas family, Clouds Park Farm owner Michael Brooke said the heifers had arrived in superb shape. "The staff at Heathrow were thrilled to see the first cattle imported by air for some 15 to 20 years." Getting the cattle to their destination involved trucking them to Calgary, an eight-hour flight on Air Canada Cargo in two specially made crates, then another two-hour road trip to Clouds Park. "It went well on this end, and I know there was quite a bit of excitement when they were unloaded at Heathrow," Gotaas said. "Last I heard they were grazing contentedly on English grass."...more