WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — Two large bulls that escaped a central Ohio butcher shop on Monday ended up getting killed by the police.
It happened Monday morning in Washington Court House.
Videos posted on social media show the animals trotting near Krogers, through downtown traffic, and even on the courthouse lawn.
“There’s a cow, in downtown!,” exclaimed Debbie Smith, who filmed one of the 2,400-pound bulls moving on the grass of the Fayette County Courthouse.
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With police officers in hot pursuit, the two large black bulls managed to travel more than two miles from Rose Avenue all the way to the fairgrounds.
Local law enforcement said the two bulls escaped from a local butcher shop as they were being unloaded from a trailer. Police chased the animals, along with the Fayette Regional Humane Society (FRHS) and employees from the shop.
Eventually, police made the decision to shoot both bulls with their department-issued firearms after law enforcement said they feared the animals were going to cause a traffic crash.
“Officers on the scene inquired about tranquilizing options, however, FRHS humane agents do not currently have the certification for the equipment needed to carry out that process,” said the county’s chief humane agent, Brad Adams. “I also believe attempts were made to others who have the capability but were unsuccessful. After observing one bull running through the downtown area and the five-way intersection near Kroger and the other bull near Columbus Avenue and Wilson Street, which commonly has a high volume of traffic, and the multiple lengthy attempts to contain them, I believe the officer’s action to put the bulls down was appropriate to prevent the possibility of serious injury to motorists, any bystanders, and the animals, themselves. I am sure it was a difficult decision and not an easy one, but it was necessary with all of the circumstances at the time.”
Adams said that after the incident with the bulls, the city has offered to help the humane society with the purchase of a tranquilizer gun and certification.
The farmers who owned the bulls retrieved the carcasses and took them back to their farms to be buried.