Nazi-bred cows so aggressive farmer had to turn them into sausages

A herd of cows that were genetically-engineered by the Nazis turned out to be so aggressive that a British farmer had to turn over half of them into sausages.

Derek Gow imported 13 Heck 'super cows' to his Devon farm in 2009, but had to terminate seven of them after they repeatedly tried to kill his staff.

We have had to cut our herd down to six because some of them were incredibly aggressive and we just couldn’t handle them.

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.

• Mr Gow

The Nazi party commissioned German zoologists and brothers Heinz and Lutz Heck, to produce the aggressive breed based on aurochs, a species of ancient wild bull that had died out.

There was a thinking around at the time that you could selectively breed animals for Aryan characteristics, which were rooted in runes, folklore and legend. What the Germans did with their breeding programme was create something truly primeval.

• Mr Gow

Their muscular physiques and deadly horns were used in propaganda material during the Second World War as a further illustration of the Third Reich’s strength and purity.

Despite their homicidal tendencies, farmer Gow did note that the meat made “very tasty” sausages that tasted a bit like venison...

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