The Concordian Breed
The people of Concordia have especially tried to influence their bovine population to breed for specific traits, as have many of the other cultures on the continent. Where they differ, however, is what they have bred the cows for. In other countries, cattle is usually used either for the production of meat, dairy and leather, or they are used plowing the fields. The Concordian breed, however, has been bred to not do any of these things in particular, but was mostly put to work as a guarding animal.
The Concordian Cow is especially alert, and is to notice any intruders immediately. They are also slightly more responsive to stressors, making them respond before a wild cow would. Lastly they have of course been bred to have a more muscular build than their grazing counterparts, or at least, the distribution of their muscle mass is slightly different. This breed has especially strong chest and shoulder muscles, making them look more threatening if you were to face them head on.
The Career of The Concordian Cow
The Concordian Cow became a beloved guard animal for the loud noises it will make when feeling uneasy, making it difficult to enter anything they guard unseen. It is usually not agressive around children, and has been known to be able to form solid bonds with their owners. On occasion, the leather would still be used after the animal died, but that was not the prime purpose to keep them.
The usage of cows as working animals took a sharp turn, however, after the arrivals of the minotaur race into Concordia. Seeing an animal they felt connected to, the minotaurs have always furthered the discussion on bovine rights, and showed their resilience in protest more than any of the proponents of keeping guard cows. At first, their protests were mostly geared towards better living conditions for the animals, and not separating mother and child to early in life.
In later years, when it became more apparent that these cows suffered quite considerably due to their heightened anxiety, a trait the humanoids had gave them, that they needed the practice to stop altogether. It came to a few less civil protests, with the last being the Bovine Welfare Riots in the 1950's.
Eventually, the government agreed with them that the treatment of the cows was inhumane, and decided to create a reserve especially for our bovine friends. As a result of these events, other animal rights activists started to gain more success with their attempts in different areas of society as well, and one can say that the case of the Concordian Cow has increased welbeing for all kinds of animals in Concordia.
