Here's The Beef: Wandering MA Cow 'Bessy' Gives Birth After Legal Fight

UPTON, MA — There's a healthy, newborn update on a cow who was at the center of a legal battle that played out in Milford District Court earlier this spring.

Bessy, a young Angus cow, gave birth over the weekend to a bull, according to her new owners. Bessy's suspected pregnancy was one of the main reasons the owners of Town Line Dairy in Upton went to court to keep her.

Bessy walked away from a Northbridge farm in July 2022 and wandered for days before breaking through a fence and joining the herd at Town Line Dairy, according to owner Crystal Maloney. For months between 2022 and 2023, Maloney and Bessy's reputed owner, Mustafa Harrati, deliberated over what would happen to the cow — eventually leading to a civil court case.

During that process, Bessy befriended a Town Line Dairy bull and got pregnant. Maloney went to court in part to protect Bessy and her calf from slaughter. Harrati had operated a farm where people could go to slaughter livestock for religious or ceremonial reasons, although Northbridge revoked his livestock permit after the health board found several violations.

"It warms our collective hearts to know that Bessy is safe and sound and that she safely gave birth to a bull calf overnight. I applaud my clients, Crystal Maloney and Town Line Dairy, for the exceptional care rendered to Bessy since she crossed the Blackstone River and pushed her way through a fence to join my clients' herd of cows at the farm," Town Line Dairy attorney Christopher Perry said Monday.

In May, a judge ruled Maloney could keep Bessy if she paid Harrati $313 in compensation. That check was delivered to Harrati on May 6, and the statute of limitations to appeal the decision has passed — meaning Bessy and her bull are permanently at home in Upton.