Steaks are high on the hunt for a Rhode Island fugitive.
A large cow was seen roaming in Johnston, RI, miles from the nearest farm, apparently after escaping from a wholesaler who was unloading it at a slaughterhouse on Thursday.
The 1,600-pound calf was first seen on a residential street in the neighborhood on Thursday morning, WPRI-TV reported. Police and animal control officials were unable to capture or transport the animal. They followed him to a wooded area, where he disappeared from view.
Police confirmed that the cow escaped Rhode Island Beef & Veal Inc., which it declined to comment on.
The animal was first spotted in Johnston, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Providence, by Tho Xaykosy, an Uber driver.
“It was about 2 am. I was going to pick up a passenger, and I look to my left, and there was a cow there, just waiting for the red light! When it turned green, the cow goes! ”Xaykosy told WJAR-TV. “At first I thought I was seeing things. I must be tired, but no, this is a real cow. “
Johnston’s police chief, Joseph Razza, asked for help in finding the animal, citing the public safety dangers of the gelding. He said the police are still looking, but have not found him or received more calls about his location. “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt,” he said, The Providence Journal reported. “People need to respect nature.”
Social media was full of posts supporting the animal and offering to save it from slaughter.
“We need to make a lot of noise and let people know that we are fighting for him so that they can join and offer his support!” wrote Providence, RI, resident Victoria Flores on the Rhode Island Vegan Awareness page on Facebook. “He’s struggling so hard to be free!”
She said she contacted several shrines in the region to try to help. Several comments on that post insisted: “We must save the cow!”
WJAR reported that Smokey Chestnut Farm Rescue in Norton, RI, is offering to give the runaway cow a home as soon as it is finally apprehended.