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

[Dobbyafreeelf]

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!

The impact didn't kill it. It was injured and then killed humanely (by a vet) to put it out of it's misery. Surely that's what they're saying

I hope all you concerned people of the poor cow don’t eat meat!

Yes, that is what they are saying.

It was hit to stop it hurting more people and then humanely put down.

The farmer was part of the chasing group so would have been in agreement and will have various insurance policies, so those injured, with damaged cars etc will be able to make a claim.

My dad nearly got killed by a stampeding cow. He is a farmer btw so he was meant to be in the field. They can be so dangerous when riled up. In the right situation I can see why this might have been the only option.

@NewMatress

The impact didn't kill it. It was injured and then killed humanely (by a vet) to put it out of it's misery. Surely that's what they're saying

That's my assumption, not ideal but if it was injuring people then perhaps desperate measures were needed. Sad all round really. I doubt the police driver was thrilled having to do it.

I don't think there was a choice. Even had they had firearms officers there, and they didn't, it is really not all that easy to kill a cow; and had it been only injured you would have had a very angry and pained creature rampaging around. It had already injured people - how many more were you willing to see injured or killed to talk the cow down? Regardless of that, there were no firearms officers there. If the cow was attacking you, would you want the police to wait for firearms officers? It might sound funny, being attacked by a cow. 700kgs plus piling in on you isn't at all amusing. Cows can kill.

The police can't do right for wrong! If they didn't do anything and it had injured somebody, the police would be slated for it too!

It was a bit of a gamble, the police could have not injured it enough to stop it.

Tbh I wouldn't fancy taking a cow down with a car either. For one thing it (the car ) would be totalled, for another there's a fair chance it would end up sliding up the bonnet and through the windscreen ending up on top of you.

Really grim for all concerned

@Porcupineintherough

Tbh I wouldn't fancy taking a cow down with a car either. For one thing it (the car ) would be totalled, for another there's a fair chance it would end up sliding up the bonnet and through the windscreen ending up on top of you.

Really grim for all concerned

Me neither, I wonder if 'killing a cow with your vehicle' is covered in the police driver training?

Will the farmer have to pay for the damage, I wonder?

@Porcupineintherough Wow scenario is gruesome but very real.
The police put their life on the line.
As young teenagers we got chased by an older cow it was terrifying she went berserk.

And while they wait for firearms It's causes an accident. I've seen a car that was hit by an out of control horse terrifying it was a miracle the person got out alive the roof was flattened

I supposed you'd be happier them waiting for armed response and it caused a serious accident because that is the alternative.

Presume you've never worked with farm animals and seen how unpredictable and dangerous they are .

What would your solution of been .

It’s likely not an experience the police officer relished. I also can’t imagine being shot is a barrel of laughs for the cow either.

Dispatching a firearms squad to a residential area is a big risk to the public and not something the police would do lightly. There may also not have been time to dispatch a firearms squad, given that it had already injured a woman and a police officer. Shooting the cow, wouldn’t have necessarily resulted in the death of the cow straight away depending on where the cow was hit. Shooting the cow in the exact right place is going to be tricky in a residential setting with a charging cow. The cow may still have been in pain and required euthanising by a vet. A vet won’t be able to get close until the cow was subdued, be that through being shot or run over.

The police have a duty to protect the public. It’s awful for the cow but this was the way that involved less risk of harm to the public.

I imagine there will be a lot of paperwork involved for the police now.

You do realise that police officers are humans with emotions as well OP? Put yourself in their shoes for a second. I mean really really think about it. I promise you that no officer wants to kill an animal, let alone in a public place in full view of everyone. No officer will have left that scene happy that they killed a cow. In fact I suspect that officer went home that night and maybe had a beer or a glass of wine and thought about the life that was lost that day. Played over their actions in their head. Wondered if there was anything else that could have been done. Maybe even shed a tear at the situation. I know because I have had to make terrible choices like that. (Disclaimer: I have never killed a cow)

But they took the actions they needed to at the time. In front of people they know will criticise. They did it to save life and limb or to minimise damage. You have no right to judge their actions unless you walk a mile in their shoes. Why don't you sign up as a special Constable and witness for yourself the need to take split second decisions. The 'damned if you do and damned if you don't' choices they have to make. It's easy to find fault when you aren't the one making the choice.

The police completely cocked this up imho. It was on the loose for quite a while and managed to get on the A329 between Reading and Bracknell, causing a 10 mile length of road to be blocked in both directions. It managed to get on it while the police where chasing it. I haven’t seen the video but apparently the police van hit the cow four times.
There was plenty of time to get a firearms squad in. They did when a deer was loose on a major road in the area a few years ago. I’ve made a complaint and I know a lot of other residents have too.

Lauren15. How would you have handled the situation? It's interesting to hear you say they cocked it up. I don't think they have training in cow herding so it's just humans trying to do their best with the tools at hand. Firearms cannot be deployed in a built up area without certain authorities. Deers that are despatched in that way are usually injured and not moving. They cannot just fire at a moving target. And that's assuming there was an armed officer available. Most police forces have deer wardens available on call to dispatch deer. They do not have cow wardens. It is nothing like as simple as you appear to believe

In exactly the same area several years ago a dear was causing problems on a main road. Police attempted several things to get it off. Eventually firearms were called. The police knocked on people’s doors and told them to stay inside until further notice. The deer was shot. That’s how I would have handled it.

Well said @ Snowdrops
My guess is that the police aimed to taking the cows legs from under it at least just to keep it in one place so that the vet or whoever could get to it .
As it was making a lot of noise after being hit it would seem that it was very much still alive and was then humanely put down by the Vet.
DH many years ago accidentally ran into a cow that was standing sideways on an unlit country lane one night . He was driving a small light car which had severe front damage(before crumple zones) and the cow just walked away.

But the problem with that is that the ammunition and weapon required to effectively kill a cow is significantly different to killing a deer. It would require heavier artillery which carried far greater risk. And if it was an unsuccessful kill shot the risk of the cow rampaging was high. It isn't that simple.

@snowdropsandcrocuses I DO have sufficient experience to know this isn't the way you dispatch an animal thanks!
This incident went on for a long time and started on a main road where they absolutely would have been able to shoot it. Even in a residential area shooting was an option. If police firearms were not available (which I find hard to believe) then there are plenty of other people who can in these circumstances be authorised to dispatch an animal. Vets, zoo keepers, hunt staff etc! According to witnesses they chased the animal for sometime before killing it. Chasing an animal in the way they did would have caused the animal to become distressed enough to attack. Backing off would have helped it calm down.

They also put themselves at risk and probably wrote off a police van.

You're angry and upset and I get it. It sounds like an horrific situation. But you really do not understand the risk assessment. If they shot the deer successfully they must have been able to contain it. They would not shoot at a moving target. They just can't do that. The cow in that footage is very much a moving target. It is also huge. So you are expecting armed officers to fire a round capable of dropping a two tonne animal in a built up public area at a moving target that they couldn't contain (already tried and failed).

Can you take a minute to really consider the contingency plans for that? What if they missed? What if they didn't kill it? How many human lives should they risk for a 'quicker kill' which there is no guarantee they would have achieved.

I used to live not far from a cattle market, and I remember when one of the cows escaped. I don't remember whether ti was a bull or not, but I remember the police turning up and basically evacuating the entire area.

Cows are dangerous animals. A combination of size, strength and stupidity, really. They have been known to kill people and crush cars. If police couldn't get hold of someone with a firearms license, logic says that they would do what they could to stop the cow in its' tracks.

No, it's not a nice way to go but if they'd done nothing, a member of the public could have lost their life.

[quote Dobbyafreeelf]@snowdropsandcrocuses I DO have sufficient experience to know this isn't the way you dispatch an animal thanks!
This incident went on for a long time and started on a main road where they absolutely would have been able to shoot it. Even in a residential area shooting was an option. If police firearms were not available (which I find hard to believe) then there are plenty of other people who can in these circumstances be authorised to dispatch an animal. Vets, zoo keepers, hunt staff etc! According to witnesses they chased the animal for sometime before killing it. Chasing an animal in the way they did would have caused the animal to become distressed enough to attack. Backing off would have helped it calm down.

They also put themselves at risk and probably wrote off a police van. [/quote]
Of course it isn't an ideal way to kill an animal. Nobody is disputing that. That is evidenced by the fact they spent ages trying NOT to kill it. They tried to contain it. I wasn't there so I don't know the behaviour of the cow. It's also incredibly sad that it had to be killed at all. I am merely saying the option they took was all they could do at the time.