This 1,500-pound bull chose life and remains on the loose after escaping his slaughter – leaving a trail of clues in his path.
According to Suffolk County Police, the bull burst through farm fencing early Tuesday. In the time since, he’s been spotted around New York – with photographs popping up on social media. Yet the bovine remains at large.
“It has been an unusual morning for officers in the Suffolk County Police Department,” the department posted to Facebook. “Police responded to 911 calls reporting a bull running loose on Montgomery Avenue in Mastic at approximately 8:20 a.m. The bull has been spotted in Mastic and Shirley and caused the brief shutdown of a portion of Sunrise Highway.”
After research, officials were able to determine that the “approximately 1,500 pound bull escaped from a farm, located at 136 Barnes Road in Manorville, after breaking through a fence this morning.”
Suffolk County officers are asking that residents please “exercise caution” if the bull is seen. “The bull is currently still loose, and all sightings should [call directly] to 911. We are actively responding to all sightings.”
The Associated Press reports that both police and animal control agencies are still “attempting to capture” the loose bovine.
“We’re here on horseback with lassos, and we’re just trying to get him before any accident, before any kind of damage… To him or anybody else,” says Frank Floridia of Strong Island Animal Rescue to AP.
The Long Island Orchestrating for Nature animal rescue group says they’re brandishing a “tranquilizer gun ready to secure him” in tandem.
1,500-lb. Black Bull Meant for Religious Slaughter?
Yet there is reportedly more to this story. According to local ABC7, the bull did indeed escape from a slaughterhouse. Originally, however, “the bull was supposed to be sacrificed as part of the celebration of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.”
This information does not seem to be available elsewhere. But ABC7 says the bull was meant for religious slaughter. They add that “it’s customary on the holiday for people of the Muslim religion to sacrifice livestock.”
Of it, an East New York witness, Tasbir Ahammed, tells the station: “It just started chasing everybody… A handful of people suffered minor injuries as they tried to move from the animal’s path.”
“The same thing happened last year at the slaughterhouse on Eid al-Adha,” he continues.
Another local, Shiful Islam, says he was exiting his car for the ceremony when he saw the bull charging for him. Islam’s injuries include “scrapes on his wrist and finger from slipping as he was trying to run away from the bull,” cites a WABC reporter.
Regardless of circumstances, the bull remains at large Wednesday.
“We’re looking for tracks,” adds Long Island Orchestrating for Nature’s John Di Leonardo for ABC7. “A bull’s very big, very heavy. He does leave pretty solid footprints.”
The station also reports, thankfully, that the bull will go to an animal sanctuary in New Jersey once rescued. But not until his big New York adventure is complete.
