Date | September 21–25, 1931 |
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Location | Cedar County, Iowa, US |
Type | Rebellion |
Cause | Bovine tuberculosis testing |
Motive | Income from slaughtered cows |
Participants | Iowa farmers |
Outcome | Successful testing |
Arrests | Jacob W. Lenker Paul Moore |
The Iowa Cow War was a series of violent disputes over the testing of cows for bovine tuberculosis in 1931. After distrustful farmers tried and failed to repeal the testing program, they congregated to block tests from taking place. The farmers believed that the test might infect cows with tuberculosis or make pregnant cows have spontaneous abortions. They also believed that the testing was unconstitutional. The owner of Muscatine radio station KTNT, Norman G. Baker, spread misinformation which resulted in more farmers protesting testing, sometimes violently. Fifty veterinarians, all working in pairs and while being protected, gave injections to 5,000 cattle per day for a week. The Iowa Cow War came to a conclusion when 31 Iowa National Guard units were deployed to stop the protesting. Two farmers were arrested for their actions during the conflict. There was one casualty, and no deaths. Most of the testing was completed by October 1931.