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AIBU?

To think you don't deal with an escaped cow by running it over!

135 replies

Dobbyafreeelf · 14/05/2021 15:19

Last night Thames Valley Police deliberately hit and killed an escaped cow in a residential area. They claim it was out of control. Had they backed off and moved people away it would have likely calmed down enough to be contained. Chasing it caused it to injure a member of the public and police officer. It was not killed outright by being run over!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-57112449

AIBU to think that this is not a humane way of dispatching an animal? If it was that out of control surely firearms should have been used to dispatch it!

OP posts:

Report

DysmalRadius · 14/05/2021 15:24

Chasing it caused it to injure a member of the public and police officer.

Did they? The article you linked to suggested that those were the reasons why they took more robust action, but that's all I've read on the matter.

LakieLady · 14/05/2021 15:25

How awful. The poor animal.

motherloaded · 14/05/2021 15:26

Have you seen the size of a cow? You don't "run over" a cow for the fun of it, vehicles don't come out too well out it either.

PurpleDaisies · 14/05/2021 15:27

I don’t know about this. Cows can be really dangerous. A walker was killed around here a few months ago.

I’m sure this wasn’t the ideal way to handle the situation but I doubt the police did this lightly.

weesleekitcowrantimrousbeastie · 14/05/2021 15:28

Ime firearms is the usual course of action, however if a squad is not available and there is a risk to the public then any means necessary may be used.
A cow on its own will only get more agitated and aggressive the more she is chased so the likelihood of containing her was slim in a residential area. 6ft cattle handling gates can be jumped over quite easily if a cow is sufficiently motivated.
As sad as this is, the police had a duty of care to manage the situation and they did just that. I would never say this was the ideal, or even a good way of euthanising her but they had to use what was available to them at the time.

Dobbyafreeelf · 14/05/2021 15:29

@PurpleDaisies

I don’t know about this. Cows can be really dangerous. A walker was killed around here a few months ago.

I’m sure this wasn’t the ideal way to handle the situation but I doubt the police did this lightly.

So shoot it. Don't mow it over!

OP posts:

PurpleDaisies · 14/05/2021 15:31

So shoot it. Don't mow it over!

Presumably firearms officers weren’t available or it wasn’t safe to use them.

Like I said, not ideal but I doubt the police did it just for fun,

helpfulperson · 14/05/2021 15:31

Without knowing details of what was behind the decision making process its impossible to know if it was a reasonable choice in the circumstances. But I'd be surprised if they did this when there were other options possible. I presume it was the least bad of all options.

Sparklingbrook · 14/05/2021 15:33

She said the sound of the cow "mooing and crying" after it was hit was "horrible".

NewMatress · 14/05/2021 15:35

So shoot it. Don't mow it over!

I don't know if you've heard but police aren't routinely armed in UK. Plus, I don't think I want police marksmen firing at a moving target in a public place. I imagine if you or your children were among the group threatened, you'd be glad action was taken quickly.

Dobbyafreeelf · 14/05/2021 15:35

What makes me angry is the way TVP have justified it by saying it was humanely dispatched.
Maybe it was necessary who knows but it was not humane!

OP posts:

CuriousaboutSamphire · 14/05/2021 15:37

In that article: the vehicle was used to prevent the cow charging yet more people.

Anyone who has worked with cows knows that when scared, angry and defensive they are fucking scary and unstoppable. Approximately a ton of pissed off cow is not to be underestimated.

Seriouslymole · 14/05/2021 15:37

How on earth do you run over a cow? Usually the car comes off worse than the animal.

Sparklingbrook · 14/05/2021 15:37

The force said the police vehicle was used to prevent the cow from charging towards other members of the public and, after all options were ruled out, the cow was "humanely euthanised".

So the vet was called?

bizzieb33 · 14/05/2021 15:38

It is also quite hard to kill a cow when shooting one, you need to know the correct area to aim for which fire arms officers may not be trained in. Poor cow being deliberately run over.

SaskiaRembrandt · 14/05/2021 15:40

That sounds horrific!

I wonder why they didn't get a vet to shoot it.

PurpleDaisies · 14/05/2021 15:41

@SaskiaRembrandt

That sounds horrific!

I wonder why they didn't get a vet to shoot it.

It sounds like an emergency situation which needed quick action.

EmeraldShamrock · 14/05/2021 15:42

If there is an immediate risk of danger or death they need to stop it the quickest way, shooting it while it was enraged is a bigger risk.

Sparklingbrook · 14/05/2021 15:42

Seems it is possible to shoot a cow dead

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-tyne-15926195

OrangeRug · 14/05/2021 15:43

It's a terrible way to die. As is being strung upside down and having your throat slit, which is how she would have died otherwise. If people didn't fund animal abuse by buying meat then the poor creature wouldn't have been in the situation in the first place.

bettertimesarecomingnow · 14/05/2021 15:43

One of our cows tried to kill me the other day by charging at me full speed. I jumped out of the way at the last minute when I realised she wasn't going to stop and intended to mow me down.

When riled up they are really dangerous! Yes dispatching her with a shotgun would have been kinder but she could really have hurt someone before that option was available.

Porcupineintherough · 14/05/2021 15:43

Hmmm, not so sure it would be so easy to deal with just by backing off and letting it calm down, escaped cows tend to be in a state of high anxiety once they get separated from their herd. They can be dangerous, esp if they get mixed up with traffic so, as the police were there and we were not, I'm going to say YABU.

I lost a cow in October last year and it took 5 attempts to recapture her. Fortunately she was working her way through a system of fields so we had time and space in which to recapture her but even so it was a nightmare. Surprisingly nippy and very strong.

Sparklingbrook · 14/05/2021 15:44

Be interested to hear what the farmer has to say. Their cow injured people and was then run over-wonder where they stand on it all.

Dobbyafreeelf · 14/05/2021 15:47

To clarify
I'm not questioning the need for stop the animal. I know damn well how dangerous cattle can be. What I am questioning is why TVP think it's ok to justify their actions with it was a humane killing. Which it clearly wasn't! If it was truly the only way to handle the situation in the moment why not say that? Why pretend that it wasn't a horrific way for that poor cow to die!

OP posts:

EarringsandLipstick · 14/05/2021 15:47

As is being strung upside down and having your throat slit, which is how she would have died otherwise.

If it was a cow, she wouldn't have died at all. Cattle (heifers / bullocks) is what's killed for beef. Cows produce milk.

(Yes, a bit pedantic I know)

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