UK cows could be replaced with muscle-bound ‘XL Bully’ breeds under secret plans
A MUSCLE-bound foreign cow dubbed the XL Bully could replace UK breeds under secret plans.
Belgian Blues can weigh up to 197 stone (1,250kg) — equal to a small rhino — and are bred for extra meat.
Their ultra-ripped physique is known as “double muscling” and their offspring are often so big they have to be born via caesarean.
Documents slipped out by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs show it commissioned a study in November 2023 to look into them replacing Angus or Hereford cattle to boost beef yields.
But Belgian Blues have also been behind a series of savage attacks.
One left herdsman Lawrence Haygarth with 17 broken ribs and severe organ damage in Cumbria in 2012.
And ex-Home Secretary David Blunkett, who is blind, suffered three broken ribs as he protected his guide dog from a charging cow in the Peak District in 2009.
The former Labour MP said: “It was a massive European breed and I could have been killed.
“They need to be as careful about introducing breeds as they are about dog breeds. It’s dangerous.”
The plans also suggest dairy breeds such as black-and-white Holsteins could be replaced with Norwegian Reds that produce less milk and more beef.
The report adds: “Although emissions from milk production would go up slightly, this would be more than offset by the reduced overheads of maintaining two herds.”
Defra declined to comment.