Pro-animal rights party PvdD has launched a crowdfunding campaign to save a cow which has been on the loose in woods in Overijssel for six weeks.

The cow, nicknamed Hermien, managed to escape before she could be loaded onto a truck and has evaded capture ever since.

According to the AD, Hermien, her sister and 15 other Limousin cows were in a field on the farm belonging to farmer Herman Janssen near the village of Lettele. At the beginning of December they were due to be transported to an abbattoir where they would have been fed a special diet for two months and then slaughtered.

But Hermien and her sister refused to go into the transporter and made off. The cows covered several kilometres and the police were alerted when they crossed a busy road, the AD said.

Hermien’s sister was eventually caught by a vet, although it took three tranquiliser darts to knock her out.

Since then, Hermien has remained in the woods, although she has been spotted heading for the barn at another farm at night for food. Efforts to catch her there, using food laced with knock-out drops, have also failed.

Next week, a vet armed with tranquiliser darts will have another attempt to knock her out and a hunter is on standby as well, the AD said.

However, the farmer has now said that if she can be captured, she can be picked up by a ‘cow retirement’ foundation which has said it will look after her in Friesland.

Cowfunding! 🐮👊🏻
Doe je mee? Dan kan die coole Hermien blijven leven!#HelpHermien #MeKoe https://t.co/5s2aDmNouv

— Esther Ouwehand (@estherouwehand) January 25, 2018