On behalf of Animals’ Angels, the Team of Viva! Interwencje inspects a farm near Kozienice in central Poland. The farm is in a total mess, with deep mud and manure. The animals lack proper shelter and water access. Despite the team's presence, the owner cannot restrain himself from using violence when handling the animals.
The team finds one cow, Annabelle, lying down and being unable to stand up. She is pregnant and her hooves are severely overgrown. Her body is dirty with excrements as she hasn't moved for several days. Her muscles are dystrophic, showing that her downer state and related suffering is permanent.
The only veterinarian in the vicinity who is willing to come is a pet vet who administers painkillers to provide the cow at least some relief. Annabelle has to wait until the next morning for a proper vet to come.
The team returns to the farm the following day to check up on Annabelle and assist the veterinary examination. The vet shares our concerns that her state is permanent and hopeless and agrees that euthanasia is the only humane solution. The poor cow is euthanized straight away and the team stays with her until the very end.
During this examination, it also turns out that the farmer had contributed to the worsening state of the already downer animal by feeding her water with sugar, inducing heavy acidosis. The owner will be reported to prosecution for keeping the cow in enduring suffering and mishandling other animals. The team will also submit a notion to local authorities to confiscate all the animals.
