Lightning killed dozens of cows and calves that hid under a tree from the storm in the Starchovets area above Kalofer. Their owner Petar Nikov lost a third of his herd and is in shock, reports bTV.
A total of 27 animals were struck by lightning - 17 cows and 10 calves. The losses are monstrous. According to Petar Nikolov, the lightning struck a stone and then traveled along the ground.
For him, this is also a personal tragedy. Among the dead animals is a cow that he raised for 18 years.
„My grandfather, after whom I am named, gave me a cow. This calf was born. I raised it for a while. And I started milking milk. I sold it to people. And whatever I earned, I saved money as a child. And I bought one, a second, a third. And that's how I started“, shares Petar Nikov.
Among the killed animals is a thoroughbred bull, whose price is 3,000 euros. The losses are about 30,000 euros.
„And I think this is the time to call on fellow livestock breeders, especially the state, to help. Because this is a huge loss for the people“, commented Rumen Stoyanov, a livestock farmer from Kalofer.
“I hope the state will help in some way, because this is a valuable commodity. And it's all about money“, says Petar Nikov.
He points out that in some years he has lost up to 10 animals from bear attacks and natural disasters, but no one in Kalofer remembers such mass devastation.
Petar Nikov's animals are raised ecologically on mountain pastures. After two days he had to sell part of the herd that died due to lightning.