£9,000 reward for safe return of runaway cow

A £9,000 reward has been offered for the safe capture of a runaway cow in Germany.

Yvonne, a six-year-old heifer, ran away from a farm in Bavaria in May and has hidden successfully in the forests of the southern stateever since.

The only sighting of the 1,500lb animal has been a near-collision with a police car a few days after she ran off.

Local officials in Muehldorf labelled the bovine a public danger and ordering her to be shot on sight.

Animal-rights activists rallied to her defence, and a Facebook page calling for Yvonne’s rescue had more than 23,000 “likes” by yesterday.

Germany’s biggest-selling newspaper, Bild, has offered a €10,000 (£8,700) reward on its front page for anyone who helps find Yvonne.

The order to shoot the cow has been suspended.

A Bavarian animal sanctuary has bought Yvonne from her former owners – sight unseen – and is taking the lead in trying to rescue her.