A slaughterhouse-bound bull in Massachusetts briefly escaped its fate Monday after crashing through an electric fence, jumping a bank, crossing an interstate and swimming through a lake, authorities said.
But officers in Raynham, south of Boston, shot and killed the 1,300-pound animal when it charged, police said in a news release.
Police said workers at a nearby farm were loading the bull onto a truck to be destined for a slaughterhouse on Monday morning when the bull became startled and crashed through several fences, some of which were electrified.
A 1,300-pound bull runs away before being shot and killed in Raynham, Massachusetts on Monday. Raynham Police Department via Vimeo
Authorities said the bull jumped a six-foot bank and onto Interstate 495, causing a crash involving three vehicles, one of whose injured drivers was taken to the hospital.
The animal escaped into the woods and ended up in Lake Nippeniket, where officers and farm staff spotted the animal swimming from shore, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities said the bull began swimming “aggressively” toward the herd, prompting an officer to fire at it with a department-issued rifle.
“Shots were ineffective in stopping the animal and the bull then left the water and began charging at people on shore,” officials said.
The officer fired several more shots, hitting the animal in the leg and immobilizing it, police said. The police department released a short officer’s body camera video of the encounter.
Police said the officers’ rifles were not powerful enough to euthanize the animals, so the farm owner used a hunting rifle to kill them.
“While a 1,300-pound bull charging at you is something no one ever expects to happen while on duty, our officers responded to the situation and dealt with it effectively, preventing further injury and destruction,” Police Chief David LaPlante said in the release.
