Bull headed for slaughterhouse escapes, goes on rampage before being fatally shot in Massachusetts

A bull bound for a Massachusetts slaughterhouse briefly escaped its fate Monday after it crashed through electrified fences, jumped a berm, ran across on an interstate and swam through a lake, authorities said.

However, police officers in Raynham, south of Boston, fatally shot the 1,300-pound animal when it charged at them, police said in a news release.

Workers at a nearby farm were loading the bull onto a truck bound for the slaughterhouse Monday morning when it became frightened and ran through multiple fences, including some that were electrified, the police department said.

The bull leaped over a 6-foot berm and ran onto Interstate 495, where it caused a three-vehicle crash, the department said. One of the injured drivers was taken to a hospital, it said.

The animal fled into some woods and ran into Lake Nippenicket, where, the police department said, officers and farm staffers spotted it swimming from shore.  

When the bull began “aggressively” swimming toward the group, the department said, an officer fired at the animal with a department-issued rifle.

“The shots were ineffective at stopping the animal, and the bull got out of the water and began to charge at those on shore,” the department said.

The officer fired several more shots, striking the animal in the leg and disabling it, police said. The police department released a brief video from an officer’s body camera that captured the encounter.

The officer’s rifle was not powerful enough to euthanize the animal, the police department said, so the farm’s owner used a hunting rifle to kill it.

“Facing a charging 1,300-pound bull is not something you go into your shift thinking is going to happen, but our officers were able to respond and effectively handle the situation and prevent further injury and destruction,” Police Chief David LaPlante said, according to the release.