Moo-ing up the wrong tree
Usually, when firefighters are called out to rescue an animal from a tree, they expect to help an over-adventurous cat to safety. Not so for Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service who were recently called out to save a cow that had managed to get stuck up a tree.
Sparkle, a Pedigree dairy shorthorn heifer calf, had ended up entangled in the branches after plunging over 100ft down an embankment. Three fire crews - wearing protective body armour in the event of lashing hooves - were involved in the rescue operation, which lasted four hours.
The calf, weighing 660lb, was sedated by vets before being winched to safety. Owner Philip Armstrong described her as "sore and bruised" but otherwise unharmed.
A spokesperson for the Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service described Sparkle as "extremely tired and exhausted. It was very, very still and in quite a deep state of shock. The vet checked the cow over and it seemed reasonably happy and relatively unscathed."
Mr Armstrong's mother, Sandra, concluded: "It was a happy ending to a very stressful afternoon."
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
