When you think about the arrival of spring, most imagine the blooming of flowers, the ensuing hay fever, and the subtle beckoning of holidays and Easter. In Switzerland, a new and udderly heartwarming tradition has started to tug at the heartstrings in recent years: cows frolicking as they are let out for spring.

Swiss cows frolick as they are let out for spring

Every year as the weather gets warmer, cows in Switzerland are let out into open fields after being cooped-cup in barns over winter. In recent years, these moments have been captured by Swiss farmers, who video how the cows bound out into the field in a frolicking frenzy.

Speaking to Watson, an organic farmer from Bern, Christian Tüscher, said he has been posting cute pictures and videos of his animals on the internet for years, in a bid to educate people as to what an organic farm in Switzerland is actually like. However, he soon noticed that his posts of frolicking spring cows were getting a good response from the public, so decided to make them an annual event:

Swiss farmers unsure why cows are so happy at springtime

Tüscher confirmed that the cows are very happy when they are let out to spring pasture for the first time, though was not sure why they are so overjoyed. On organic farms, Swiss cows are allowed to go out to a paved forecourt during the winter, but the arrival of spring is the first time the cows return to grass. 

“As soon as it gets warmer, you notice how the animals in the stable become restless… they probably also feel spring fever and are happy that they can go out into the meadow again,” he theorised.