Polish farmers are sounding the alarm: apples and carrots with screws embedded in them are being thrown onto pastures

Polish farmers are warning of a cruel and life-threatening phenomenon – unknown individuals are throwing apples and carrots with metal screws embedded in them into cattle pastures. According to the farmers, such incidents are not isolated but are occurring systematically. It is also reported that there has been an increase in incidents involving damage to electric fences.

The incidents have been reported by livestock farms in Poland. Farmers claim that fruit and vegetables resembling feed become deadly traps for cattle – the animals swallow them without distinguishing them from their usual feed. Metal objects entering the digestive system can cause damage to internal organs, severe inflammation, veterinary complications or even the death of the animal.

Cattle farmers emphasise that the problem is not limited to isolated cases of vandalism. According to them, unknown individuals regularly damage fences, allowing cattle to escape onto roads or neighbouring farms, posing an additional danger to people and traffic.

Experts point out that apples themselves are not harmful to cattle. On the contrary – they have long been used as a supplementary feed component. Poland is one of the world’s largest apple producers and harvests thousands of tonnes of this raw material every year.

However, metal fragments entering the cattle’s digestive system pose one of the most serious threats. There are known cases in veterinary practice where animals have swallowed wire, nails or other metal objects, which pierce the stomach lining and can damage the heart or other vital organs. In such cases, treatment is often complex and expensive, with losses to farms amounting to hundreds or even thousands of euros per animal.

The incident has caused great outrage within the Polish farming community. Farmers are urging the public not to throw food into pastures, even if their intentions seem good. Experts point out that cattle can be endangered not only by foreign objects, but also by unsuitable feed or sudden changes in their diet.

Agricultural organisations are urging farmers to regularly inspect their pastures, check the condition of fences and immediately report any suspicious incidents to the police. According to farmers, such actions go beyond mere hooliganism and may be regarded as deliberate cruelty to animals.