In an effort to raise awareness of cruelty in the beef and dairy industry, animal rights activists have vandalized ... a cow statue. The iconic Iowa State Fair butter cow—which is, yes, a cow sculpted out of butter—was found doused in red paint this morning, with "Freedom for all" scrawled on its glass case, the Des Moines Register reports. A group called Iowans for Animal Liberation has taken credit for the attack, which it says members carried out after hiding in the fair's Agriculture Building until it closed last night.
"The paint represents the blood of 11 billion animals murdered each year in slaughterhouses, egg farms, and dairies," the group said in an email to the Register. No arrests have been made yet, but police are reviewing security footage. Fortunately for butter-cow fans, the vandalism was discovered very early in the morning, and the sculptor was able to come in and re-butter the cow before doors opened to the public at 9am. "No one was hurt; no one was injured," says the fair's marketing director. "The butter cow is fine." (More Iowa State Fair stories.)
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