Animal rights protesters vandalize a cow made of butter

(Image: AP)

...Because even buttery bovines should roam free, or something:

Vandals from the group Iowans for Animal Liberation attempted to churn controversy over factory farms by scrawling "Freedom For All" on a glass window in the display.

"It's sad, because the butter cow is iconic of the Iowa State Fair," said Lori Chappell, Iowa State Fair marketing director, who added: "No one was hurt; no one was injured. The butter cow is fine."

Security has increased at the building since the incident, and better locks have been installed, Chappell said. [...]

A group that calls itself Iowans for Animal Liberation claimed responsibility for the vandalism in an email to the Des Moines Register. The email stated group members hid in the Agriculture Building until it closed.

"After dismantling the lock to the refrigerated case housing the Butter Cow with a screwdriver, we doused the entire butter sculpture in red paint," the email said. "The paint represents the blood of 11 billion animals murdered each year in slaughterhouses, egg farms, and dairies."