Investors Have One Day to Save This Cow From Slaughter

A black calf named Angus may soon be slaughtered unless enough investors decide to give up their stake in him before a looming deadline.

In 2024, the Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF purchased Angus and turned him into an unusual art and investment project. The group sold 404 digital shares tied to the animal, with the plan that once Angus reached maturity he would be processed into about 1,200 hamburger patties and four leather handbags. However, the project also gave investors a choice: they could surrender their shares and vote to spare the animal’s life.

That decision point is approaching quickly. With Friday’s deadline nearing, reports indicate that only about one-third of Angus’ token holders have logged into MSCHF’s online “Remorse Portal” to give up their claims. For Angus to be saved and sent to live at an animal sanctuary, more than half of the shareholders must surrender their tokens.

The project has sparked criticism from animal-rights advocates, who say the concept is cruel. Some art curators, however, argue the idea forces people to confront how easily society separates the reality of livestock slaughter from the everyday act of eating beef.

While Angus’ situation has drawn attention, it reflects a much broader reality. Roughly 32 million cattle were slaughtered for beef production in the United States in 2024. Still, the calf has gained a following as MSCHF posted updates about his life on a meat-production farm in upstate New York.

According to MSCHF, the financial cost of slaughtering Angus is roughly equal to the expense of caring for him at a sanctuary for the next two decades. But saving him would require investors to walk away from what they purchased. Originally, 400 tokens tied to hamburger patties were sold for $35 each, while four handbag tokens were priced at $1,200 apiece. Some of those tokens have since been resold for higher amounts.

So far, at least one of the handbag tokens has been surrendered, representing 12.5 percent of the total shares needed. From the beginning, organizers believed Angus would likely end up being slaughtered. MSCHF co-founder Kevin Wiesner said the situation has become more emotional as the deadline approaches, adding that the group will ultimately carry out whatever decision the investors make.

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