Hey, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Animalia Ambassadoria," said Miles, "And we're going to be covering the Lunar New Year festival of 2021."
"That's right," said Jen-Jen, "I know plenty of people are wanting to put the Year of the Rat behind him. Well, now we're entering the Year of the Ox."
"Which I hope will be promoting strength and good health," said Ben the young Belgian Blue bull.
"So, Ben, how do you feel to be in the spotlight?" asked Miles.
"I'm not really competing in anything," said Ben, "Just because I'm a bull doesn't mean I have to be all about brawn. I'm more concerned with good medicine."
"Speaking of which, how do think we're doing with the coranavirus pandemic?" asked Jen-Jen.
"Well, the vaccines are being distributed, which is good," said Ben, "But it's going to take some time before everyone's been vaccinated. And we're mainly looking at the United States so we're not quite sure what the other nations' plans and statuses are. Still, we need to continue exercising public health measures. The best way to stop the virus is to stop spreading it. But I think the turning point is within sight."
"Which is why we're taking a few measures of precaution for this Lunar Festival," said Jen-Jen, "We're fortunate enough to be able to have this festival, but that doesn't mean people have to be reckless."
"And with the Mister and Miss Zodiac competition, we're getting a lot more interest than the last two years. Not that there's anything wrong with being a pig or a rat, but the cattle are almost as popular as the dogs," said Ben.
"Gee, I wonder why," said Miles dryly, "Well, let's go to our field teams who are observing these contests."
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"Hey there, I'm Betsy Talbot and me, Melvin, Grace, and Kendra are covering the Miss Year of the Ox Pageant," said Betsy.
"You know, being called a 'cow' has been used a rather derogatory and insulting term for women for centuries," said Grace, "But I think these ladies would disagree with that." With that, the camera spanned across the stage to show several female bovine Animalians. All of them were wearing tight dresses that showed off their impressive udders. A few cows could be recognized from working in the Meat Market, such as Maddie and Iowa. Strawberry and Blackberry were also on the stage, wearing lovely dressed of red and dark purple respectively. Though probably the most noticeable lady on the stage was Shuixing, who stood taller than several of the other cows.
"Quite a lot of interesting fashion statements, wouldn't you say, Melvin?" asked Betsy.
"Uh, yes, very...interesting," said Melvin. The barn owl looked rather flushed to be looking at so many women with massive mammaries.
"And there are also fine ladies who are not on the stage," said Kendra before turning to Blueberry Bowman, "I'm rather surprised you're not competing."
"Well, I didn't want to get in the way of my future daughter-in-law. Not to mention, I'm not quite the shape to be in a pageant," said Blueberry. She rubbed her belly, which had a noticeable bump in it.
"Congratulations, by the way," said Kendra, "Though, if I'm not mistaken, weren't there four of you Swiss Browns?"
"Well, Gooseberry isn't here now," said Blueberry, "She's recovered from her case of COVID and she's helping develop an Animalian-friendly vaccine. I hear there's been a lot of progress."
"That's good to know," said Betsy, "And who are you hoping will win?"
"Well, naturally I want Shuixing and my two sisters to make it to the finals," said Blueberry, "But I shouldn't say more than that to hurt anyone's feelings."
"Well, we'll see how far these ladies will get. And now for the bulls."
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"Hi, I'm Harvey Mainz and I'm with Fred, Eliza, and Susie covering the Mister Year of the Ox competition," said Harvey, "And I can tell you right now, there's a lot of beef here."
"Unlike the last few years, there's going to be some very stiff competition," said Fred, "Quite a few bodybuilders have decided to become bulls when they converted. Or vice versa. And considering the Belgian Blue that were present when the Outbreak first happened were specifically bred to produce a lot of beef, that made for some ideal DNA for bulking up."
"Honestly, it's easier to list the bulls in this competition who aren't Belgian Blues. Like this fine fellow right here," said Susie before turning the camera to Ulysses Bowman.
"This won't take long, will it?" asked Ulysses, "I need to get ready."
"Won't be more than a few minutes," said Eliza, "So tell us, why enter the competition? Aren't you competing against your own son?"
"Well, to be honest, I'm competing more to make a statement than to win," said Ulysses, "Just because the Swiss Brown was bred to be a dairy cow doesn't mean our bulls are weak compared to beef cattle. My only real goal is to score higher than some of these beefheads. For winning the whole thing, I'm expecting Nate to make it to the top."
"You do realize that Nate has only been a water buffalo for less than a year while some of these bulls have been training for much longer," said Fred.
Ulysses shrugged and said, "There's always beginner's luck. Now if you excuse me, I need to get ready."
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"As you can see, these people are all trying to prove they're as strong as an ox in every way imaginable," said Miles, "This will certainly make for an interesting few days."
"Of course, we won't be just celebrating the Lunar New Year during those days," said Jen-Jen, "This is another February where we've got several big holidays in a row. We've got Valentine's Day, President's Day, Mardi Gras, and Ash Wednesday coming in rapid succession."
"We'll be incorporating some of each holiday into this festival," said Ben, "So keep watching because the party's far from over."