Combat de Reines or Swiss Cow fighting (French: Combat de Reines) is a traditional event held mostly in the Swiss canton of Valais, in which a cow fights another cow (unlike bullfighting, in which humans fight bulls, often to the death).

In the Swiss Canton of Valais, breeders of Herens cattle let their strongest animals engage in friendly cow fights. The fights have become a tourist attracti...

May 6, 2019 · Divided into age and weight categories, the cows are freed into a ring where they choose their opponent. The rules are simple: the ones who run away or lose three consecutive fights are out of...

Dec 4, 2024 · The Cow Fighting Festival offers more gentleness and grace than its name suggests. Set in the picturesque Valais region, this event showcases cows pushing one another in a gentle contest of strength. It’s less like a battle and more like a sophisticated dance-off. 2. Chalandamarz – Ringing In Spring

The Cow fights or Combat des Reines is a unique tradition that is held on a yearly base in the Canton of Valais in Switzerland. The Hérens cows (Eringer) are...

Spectators cheer as cows with names like Papillon and Surplice face off in an outdoor ring perched between village and meadow in the Swiss Alps. White numerals on four pairs of black hides, the animals pitch or stand fast, winners or losers in the annual fights of the queens.

Cow fights take place throughout the region in which the Hérens breed has its home (Central Valais, Valle d'Aosta in Northern Italy). More than any other breed, these small black cows with short, sturdy horns have retained the instinct to organise themselves into a social hierarchy.

Utterly unlike Spanish bullfighting – an altogether gorier spectacle – Valaisian cowfighting stems from village get-togethers to see whose cow was best suited to lead the herds up to the summer Alpine pastures.

The contemporary tradition of animal husbandry in the canton of Valais revolves around the following breeds: the Herens cow, the Évolène cow, the Valais Blacknose sheep, the Swiss White Alpine sheep, the Walliser Landschaf (also known as the Roux du …

May 22, 2024 · From calf-hood, the Herens fight. They even have the stocky, medium builds of sturdy, fighting animals. Unlike most of the cows I’ve seen in Switzerland, with their brown to reddish-brown coats and their white and brown coats, the Herens cow has a deep, dark-chocolate color. Some almost look black.