Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago

---

The Cow fights or Combat des Reines is a unique tradition that is held on a yearly base in the Canton of Valais in Switzerland. The Hérens cows (Eringer) are a unique race. They have shorter legs and are known for their natural sense of hierarchy. Thus, the cows (female) are really into fighting / wrestling, in order to determine the dominance within the herd. As this is a very natural behavior of these cows, the farmers have been sending their strongest cow to a competition, where it will be combating others. One of these cultural events – Stechfest – is held in Zermatt and usually takes place every August.

The cows are categorized into four classes, which is based on the age and weight: cattles, Erstmelker (cows that are in their first year of giving milk) and adult cows. The latter is divided into 2 sub-classes: light and heavy cows. Similar events are also held in other parts of Valais, Haute-Savoie France and Val d’Aoste in Italy.

This tradition is in FULL COMPLIANCE with the ANIMAL PROTECTION GUIDELINES of SWITZERLAND, which are worldwide among the strictest (Top 6 worldwide):
api.worldanimalprotection.org
api.worldanimalprotection.org/country/switzerland

Thank you to Zermatt-Matterhorn Tourism for sponsoring this video
https://www.zermatt.ch/en

Information about the local tourism:
https://www.valais.ch/en/activities/culture-customs/cow-fights
https://www.zermatt.ch/Media/Neuigkeiten/Events/Reine-du-Cervin-Ringkuhkampf-am-Matterhorn

Music by Epidemic Sound

Equipment: Sony α6500, GoPro Hero 8 Black, DJI Mavic Air, DJI Mavic 2 Pro, DJI FPV

Special thanks to Marco and Zermatt-Matterhorn