Post by Swamp Gas on Sept 20, 2007 16:26:18 GMT -5
www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/09/20/2007-09-20_untitled__cow20m-1.html
Escaped cow Maxine to receive refuge upstate
BY TAMER EL-GHOBASHY and TINA MOORE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Thursday, September 20th 2007, 4:00 AM
After leading authorities on a 49-minute chase Tuesday night, Maxine was making her final trip last night - to an idyllic upstate sanctuary, officials said.
"Right when she got in the trailer she started eating clover hay," Susie Coston said, as she traveled with Maxine to the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen. "She's sweet."
Coston, the sanctuary's director, said the cow would receive life-long care at the 175-acre farm that has more than 1,000 other animals.
Calls began pouring into 911 at about 9:45 p.m., when the cow was spotted on a highway in Queens.
She was captured 10 sightings later at about 10:30 p.m. in Briarwood, when police cornered her in 12-year-old Hardeep Singh's backyard.
"That's the first time I've seen a cow around my block," said Hardeep, who lives on 144th St. "I was sort of scared because it could have hurt somebody."
Some people thought the news media was milking the story. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that the NYPD was used to corralling a variety of animals.
"We do have the cow," he said. "The cow is in custody."
Officials were unsure where Maxine escaped from but believed she was being led to slaughter because of a tag that was glued to the fur on her back.
She was estimated to weigh about 1,000 pounds and was worth about $800 to $1,000.
Coston said the animal probably broke out of a live market.
"If it was a live market, she would have been slaughtered at the site," Coston said.
The city has more than 75 markets where buyers can select live cows that are then butchered on the premises, she said. The markets are legal as long as they are licensed.
"Just the fact that we can save one is incredible," Coston said. "At the farm, people are going to see her and she's going to represent all those animals who don't get out of these places. She can make a huge difference."
Maxine isn't the first cow who escaped slaughter in the city to move upstate. Another cow, Queeny, escaped from a slaughterhouse in 2002, sanctuary officials said.
Escaped cow Maxine to receive refuge upstate
BY TAMER EL-GHOBASHY and TINA MOORE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Thursday, September 20th 2007, 4:00 AM
After leading authorities on a 49-minute chase Tuesday night, Maxine was making her final trip last night - to an idyllic upstate sanctuary, officials said.
"Right when she got in the trailer she started eating clover hay," Susie Coston said, as she traveled with Maxine to the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen. "She's sweet."
Coston, the sanctuary's director, said the cow would receive life-long care at the 175-acre farm that has more than 1,000 other animals.
Calls began pouring into 911 at about 9:45 p.m., when the cow was spotted on a highway in Queens.
She was captured 10 sightings later at about 10:30 p.m. in Briarwood, when police cornered her in 12-year-old Hardeep Singh's backyard.
"That's the first time I've seen a cow around my block," said Hardeep, who lives on 144th St. "I was sort of scared because it could have hurt somebody."
Some people thought the news media was milking the story. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said that the NYPD was used to corralling a variety of animals.
"We do have the cow," he said. "The cow is in custody."
Officials were unsure where Maxine escaped from but believed she was being led to slaughter because of a tag that was glued to the fur on her back.
She was estimated to weigh about 1,000 pounds and was worth about $800 to $1,000.
Coston said the animal probably broke out of a live market.
"If it was a live market, she would have been slaughtered at the site," Coston said.
The city has more than 75 markets where buyers can select live cows that are then butchered on the premises, she said. The markets are legal as long as they are licensed.
"Just the fact that we can save one is incredible," Coston said. "At the farm, people are going to see her and she's going to represent all those animals who don't get out of these places. She can make a huge difference."
Maxine isn't the first cow who escaped slaughter in the city to move upstate. Another cow, Queeny, escaped from a slaughterhouse in 2002, sanctuary officials said.