RCMP say they had no choice but to kill a wounded calf running loose near Warman on Monday afternoon.
The calf was one of several cattle that escaped from a local farm.
“The calf was agitated and injured. It was bucking and kicking at people as they approached and had apparently suffered a broken leg after having run in the vicinity of railway tracks that run through Warman,” RCMP said in a media release.
Most of the escaped cattle were spotted around 3 p.m. on Highway 11 near a railway overpass. Police assisted the owner in rounding up the animals, but an hour later received a call about the escaped calf running loose on Highway 305 near Crystal Springs Drive.
The owner was unable to round up the injured calf and requested officers kill the animal.
“Their attempts to assist the owner in bringing the animal under control were unsuccessful and the owner requested that officers dispatch the calf out of concern for public safety and to alleviate the animal from further suffering,” the release stated.
The farmer — an experienced cattle owner, according to RCMP — advised officers that police issued shotguns would be ineffective and requested officers use their service pistols.
Fourteen shots from one officer’s gun were needed to kill the calf. RCMP policy allows officers to kill domestic animals or livestock when an animal is suffering or when the animal threatens public safety, but officers are not trained specifically on how best to kill each animal — in this instance, where the calf should have been shot.
“A veterinarian who attended at the scene advised the officer that several of the shots landed in an area of the animal’s skull that would not have been effective, which resulted in the officer having to fire more shots,” police said.
One resident caught the incident on camera.
“I was pretty upset because I just thought it was tranquilizers. I didn’t know they were killing it,” James Burroughs said.
Another witness said police did what they had to but wondered if the incident could have ended better.
“It was a sad situation. My kids had to witness a cow getting shot. In all events, it could have been prevented if we had more preventative measures,” said Todd Waldner.
RCMP said Warman officers are not equipped or trained with tranquilizer guns.
The calf was a yearling — between one and two years old — that was bred for rodeo bucking.