Cow opts to run from NYC slaughterhouse, will spend rest of days at farm: video

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Cow runs wild through Brooklyn streets after escaping slaughterhouse

Credit: Original Pizza on Avenue L/LOCAL NEWS X /

A Brooklyn pizzeria shared surveillance video of a cow making a run for it in the streets from a slaughterhouse.

It happened Tuesday around 1:40 p.m., witnesses told FOX 5 New York.

Several videos strung together show people frantically chasing the cow, some with lassos, and one man in an apron even attempting to grab the bovine's tail.

"It was just running down Rockaway Parkway all the while being chased by people from the slaughterhouse who were unable to nail her down," Vinny Fontana, owner of Original Pizza, told Gothamist. "When she came into the business district, everyone pitched in together to herd this cow."

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A man in an apron chases after a slaughterhouse cow escapee in Brooklyn, New York, and grabs his tail on March 21, 2023. (Original Pizza on Avenue L/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)

The cow was eventually captured near Avenue M and East 95th Street after being chased in Canarsie.

An employee at the slaughterhouse on Rockaway Avenue told NBC New York that the calf "slipped a truck and ran for about a mile."

The escape attempt worked, as the 4-month-old calf will reportedly live out its days at a New Jersey sanctuary, according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). 

"The facility surrendered her to Skylands Animal Sanctuary & Rescue, where she will have the opportunity to graze on open pastures, roam freely, and do whatever else she likes," a PETA press release reads. 

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A cow runs through the streets of Brooklyn, New York, from a slaughterhouse. The escape attempt worked, as it will get to spend the rest of its days at an animal sanctuary. (Original Pizza on Avenue L/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)

The agreement with Saba Live Poultry slaughterhouse apparently did not come easily.

"We immediately offered the calf a lifelong home, but these people have easily been the least receptive to letting an animal live that I’ve ever dealt with," Mike Stura posted on the Skylands Animal Sanctuary social media. "Maybe the news coverage and some public sentiment will help them see this poor kid as an individual."

Surveillance video shows a cow escaping from a slaughterhouse in Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York, and running through the streets. (Original Pizza on Avenue L/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)

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Back in 2021, a 1,500-pound bull broke through a fence just before slaughter in Manorville and managed to evade authorities for two months before it was finally caught, according to FOX 5. Skylands Animal Sanctuary ended up capturing him and dubbed him Barnie the Bull.

A calf escaped from a slaughterhouse in Park Slop before it was captured by authorities and taken to an animal sanctuary in New Jersey in 2017, the New York Post reports.