Tom Wood
An escaped cow that launched a bid for freedom around the streets of Brooklyn has managed to win a second chance at life.
Here she is making a daring escape attempt:
The young calf – thought to be around four months old – was filmed and even made local TV after she broke out on the way to the slaughterhouse that had been her destiny and started running around the streets of New York.
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After managing to somehow get out of a vehicle, the animal – which despite being young is still pretty large – was spotted by many members of the public running around East 96th Street and Avenue L on Tuesday afternoon (22 March).
Naturally, people became interested in what would happen to the creature if captured.
Well, eventually the people from the slaughterhouse just a few blocks away managed to corral the calf and get it back into the vehicle, presumably thinking that might be the end of the story.
It wasn’t.
Vincent Fontana, the owner of Original Pizza, said: "The people from the slaughterhouse, they were trying to lasso it and get it into the truck, but she was feisty, she didn't want to go."
Local workers even pitched in to help out with catching the cow, but once the incident went viral, public opinion was quick to turn on the slaughterhouse folks, with many begging for the cow to be spared after such a daring escape effort.
One of those who was moved by the incident was Mike Stura, who runs the Skylands Animal Sanctuary in New Jersey, not too far away.
Skylands is the sort of place that has made a habit of taking in animals that are destined for the chop, even taking in ones that make bids for freedom such as this.
So, he rang up the slaughterhouse and tried to make a deal for the calf’s life.
After some initial hesitancy – according to Stura – they agreed to let Stura and his team take the calf in.
Stura reckons that there’s something in all humans – even those who eat meat and consume animal products – that produces empathy for animals who are fighting for their lives.
He said: “Even slaughterhouse workers over the years that have given me animals, much bigger animals than this one, and have taken a much bigger financial hit and have said to me that they're happy the animal came with me.
"They are happy to see one live.
“You know, even the people in the slaughterhouses."
Fontana added: “I think she deserves it. I think she earned it.”