[!vachibou-logo.jpg](http://canadiandesignresource.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/vachibou-logo.jpg)   The Vachibou, a logo combining a cow and caribou that was to be used as part of Quebec’s 400th anniversary celebrations, has been axed. When Quebec City celebrates its 400th anniversary, party-goers will have plenty of choice: ageing American rockers Van Halen or the Quebec Symphony Orchestra but something will be missing from the féte. The French government has quietly killed off the antlered dairy cow it unveiled last year as the mascot of France’s sponsorship of the festivities. Named the Vachibou (Cowibou), the distinctive creature was intended as a hybrid of the dairy cattle of Normandy, homeland of Quebec’s original settlers, and the wild caribou that roam the Quebec tundra. But when former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin brought pictures of the beast during a visit last year to announce France’s anniversary contribution, they were met with snickers. Quebecers pointed out that the antlers were those of a moose, not a caribou. The incongruity of a female cow with a male moose’s antlers was noted. “In the opinion of some, all that was missing were feathers and a beaver’s tail to make the full tour of Quebec folklore,” the Journal de Québec remarked. “Why not have it coming out of a log cabin?” “The project is dead,” Jean Beaudoin, a spokesman for the French consulate in Quebec City confirmed recently. “The image was not modified. It was simply abandoned.” Instead of branding French-sponsored events with the Vachibou, a logo with the words “France Quebec – 4 centuries of fraternity” will be used. Chantal Moreno, the general commissioner of France’s 400th anniversary committee, denied that the Vachibou fell victim to the mocking reception in Quebec. The government simply preferred to invest in concrete projects rather than communications, she said. The committee had entertained the idea of putting the Vachibou image on T-shirts and key chains, but that costs money. -Graeme Hamilton