When pigs, I mean cows fly!

Cows rely on tractor to grow crops for their food, so now we know this is tractor related. I was watching the show Decades that recounts items from this date in history in past decades. One of the items they mentioned was in 1911 the first animal flew on a plane. Then they said the first cow flew on a plane in 1933. Does anyone know if cattle are flown on planes frequently these days. I would guess to ship them overseas would be the only thing that would be a good reason for them to fly.

Im pretty sure but not positive that theres been some high priced breeding stock that have seen the belly of a cargo plane before.

I wonder if they in first class or coach lol

It was on Farming Frontiers,years and years ago, they showed dairy cattle walking up on a plane, i think they were going to Japan, they were trying to improve their milk production!

I remember a report on RFD TV showing cattle loaded onto large freighter planes going over the pond. They each were in a cage just big enough to not turn around.

Well, this is kind of related. I was watching the behind the scenes stuff on the DVD of the movie Hidalgo. A large portion of that movie was filmed over seas. If I remember right, I believe they said they flew those horses overseas
for the filming. They wasn't going to be able to find the numbers, nor the type, of the horses they needed for the movie over there where they were filming.

That sounds like it, Japan is or use to be an avid importer of top quality breeding stock.

My guess today they would probably ship embryos and semen as it would be a lot cheaper.

About 20 years ago, to reduce milk overproduction, there was a herd buy out program. Many of those quality herds were sent to Japan, if I remember correctly.

Saw a show where million dollar race horses are flown around on a retro fitted Boeing plane, in small stalls. Rowdy ones were last on, and first off. Some that wouldn't board the ramp had to be sedated a little.

Yes. I flew MD-11s for FedEx and we flew a lot of animal charters in the States and Overseas. Lot of race horses moving between the various tracks in Florida, East and West coasts. Also fly breeder bovines, swine, chickens, horses, bees, etc all around the world. We also shipped horses out of Canada to Europe, where some of them were slaughtered but it is illegal in US. Race horses are also shipped to a lot of the Middle Eastern countries who have large racing stables. The horses are kept in movable mobile stalls and the handlers monitor them during the flight. We secure before taxiing all the syringes and sharp object etc in the cockpit which has a lockable entry door. Horses breathe out a lot of CO2 and high moisture vapor so we have to keep all three a/c packs going and it also keeps the temps cool in the back. We have also hauled Panda's, gorillas, big cats, etc from overseas zoos to ones in the states. If we can get it through the cargo door we will ship it, from race cars, military equipment, ammo to containers of various types of hazardous cargo in special containers. Only thing we do not ship to my knowledge is poison gas.

Back in the 80s or so, neighbors were looking to make money and flew in some better cows from New York to southern Minnesota. Was supposed to be better and faster for the animals.

Then the milk market went to heck, and that govt buyout program came around, and those high dollar cows so important they were flown in, were basically sold for hamburger.

Best laid plans........

Paul

Not cows anymore, but I have a friend that flys Dairy goats to Central American. He charters a cargo plane, and 300-400 goats go in one flight

Probably steerage.

Carnation Milk Company flew a young bull from Wisconsin to Schulenburg, Texas to celebrate the opening of its milk processing plant in 1929.

Here are some flying cow pics;

See my post above.

When I flew for the US Government I flew a LOT of poisonous gas from the east coast to west. Beechcraft queen aire and King aire.