Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Postcard from... Belgium

 

Charlotte McDonald-Gibson
Wednesday 04 December 2013 20:00 EST
Comments
(Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The farmer had his suspicions about the hulking bull he bought last April. The animal’s task in hand was to get busy on the farm in Belgium’s Flanders region and impregnate eight cows. But more than a year had passed, and the cows remained without calf.

While he was a little perplexed by the lack of action in his fields, the farmer, named Koen was happy to wait and let nature take its course. Then one day, while out on his rounds, he was shocked to discover the reason for the bull’s lack of results.

“We happened to pass the field when we saw the bull jump on the cow’s head,” the farmer – whose first name was not revealed – told the Flanders News website. “I took a snapshot. It was clear evidence that the bull wasn’t doing his work properly.”

And this is the evidence that Mr Koen now plans to submit to a judge, with his lawyer arguing that the €3,000 (£2,487) beast should not have been sold unless he was up to the job. “When you buy something, it should be fit for purpose,” the lawyer said. “In this case it’s absolutely not the case.”

As the narrator of the video points out, “bulls that prefer the front end are few and far between”. However, those words are of little comfort to Mr Koen.

The seller insists the bull had proved his winning ways with the ladies before, but Mr Koen is not convinced. “You can’t teach him better ways,” he says. “You can’t go and stand by the bull all day. And you can’t teach him the proper method.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in