A cow was fatally shot by Police in a residential Whanganui street this morning due to the risk that it posed to the public and Police staff.
The incident began at around 7.45am after police were called to a report of a cow on the loose in Puriri Street.
Police located the animal in nearby Kauri Street and tried to move it to a nearby vacant section. However it charged at the attending officers several times and began running off down York Street. At this point staff attempted to move the animal on to a nearby golf course. By this time the cow had also charged at a man in a mobility scooter on a pedestrian crossing.
The agitated cow then began heading towards a local school and police had no choice but to destroy the animal at that point.
An officer fired one shot at the cow at close range . This proved ineffective and the animal continued to evade attempts to contain it.
Several more shots were fired at close range which eventually killed the cow at Alma Road near the intersection with Moore Avenue.
“This incident happened at a busy time in full view of the public and we appreciate this must have been a traumatic event to have witnessed." said Senior Sergeant Paul Baskett of Whanagnui police.
“However public safety will always be our first consideration in these situations and our staff acted based on their immediate safety concerns at the time. This was a big animal and had they not acted there was a real risk that it could have caused serious injury.” said Mr Baskett.
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