Abbotsford (CKNW) – It sounds like a story line from a TV show but it was very real and for a short while, dangerous.
It was a chaotic thirty minutes on a busy stretch of road in Abbotsford Sunday morning as a cow was put down by police after it ran into traffic. This happened at Sumas Way at South Fraser Way.
“I imagine the cow itself was very scared, but we have families that’re off the churches on Sunday morning in the area that are swerving that could put their lives in jeopardy and over that thirty minute period, officers on the scene made the decision that cow needed to be dealt with.”
Constable Paul Walker with Abbotsford Police says officers were called out to reports of the animal running into traffic.
“Vehicles were swerving out of the way to avoid hitting the cow and coming into contact with it. Police flooded the area and multiple attempts were made to try and corral the cow using their vehicles and trying to contain it into fields and things that were less populated. Every time we did, it was unsuccessful and the cow ended up entering Sumas Way and running northbound up towards South Fraser Way.”
He says it’s regrettable the cow had to be put down but there was little choice.
“We deal with multiple cow calls and they usually are resolved peacefully and quickly, but in this case it kept going on and the risk of public safety was high and therefore that’s the decision we made today.”
Walker adds there were no reports of car damage.
