Community Stories

Holy cow! The case of the bolting bovine

Red Deer RCMP officers were led on a lengthy foot pursuit Monday morning, through the streets and back alleys of Vanier Woods, Lonsdale and Lancaster.

The chase lasted for nearly 90 minutes as the four-legged suspect darted in and out of yards and alleys, trying to elude capture. But, this was not your run-of-the-mill bad guy.

“My guess is it wandered in from a nearby farm, but exactly where it came from is still unknown,” admits Kevin Duval, Municipal Enforcement Officer with Alberta Animal Services. “This kind of thing doesn’t happen very often. It happens here and there but it’s pretty rare that a big animal like this comes into the city.”

Udderly exhausted from leading police and Animal Services officers on a three-neighbourhood chase, the steak-out ended around 11 a.m. in the back alley behind Lister Crescent.

“We just made a human wall essentially, us and members of the RCMP, and he came into a backyard and then walked out and straight into the trailer,” says Officer Duval.

With that, the cattle battle was over, and the four-legged suspect was transported back to greener pastures.

“It was pretty easy, he knew the drill,” says Duval.