Video: Cow shot dead after man injured
© Rex Shutterstock Police have shot dead a cow after it injured a man and “caused highway disruption” in Cumbria.
Firearms officers from Cumbria Police destroyed the brown cow after a man suffered minor injuries when the animal knocked him down when he tried to approach it.
(Credit: Dashcam Cumbria)
Police said the cow escaped from Skirsgill auction mart where a store cattle sale had been taking place.
See also: Escaped cow shot dead by police marksmen
Officers said a stretch of the A66 road in Kemplay Roundabout, near Penrith, was closed for a time on Monday afternoon (8 June).
A force spokesman defended the decision to shoot the cow because it was a “danger to the public”.
Motorists and pedestrians were asked to avoid the area at the time because the cow had had been causing highway disruption. No one else was injured in the incident.
In recent weeks, the row over whether police should be allowed to shoot escaped livestock has intensified after a number of similar shooting incidents.
Critics have urged police to consider the use of tranquilisers for livestock deemed out of control and a danger to the public and only shoot them as a last resort.