Police run over calf - reasonable?

Police run over calf - reasonable?

Author
Discussion

DonkeyApple

56,825 posts

172 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
otolith said:
Watching the video on the BBC - it got up and ran away again after being hit by the car, so what is it that people think that achieved?
The officer has learned that next time a farmer fails to co rain his animals and they get loose where they could cause harm to people, he needs to be a little more firm with the throttle and brake a little later?

Tenacious

188 posts

2 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
redrabbit29 said:
Another thread of internet keyboard warriors who think they know better. The Police aren't faultless but so many say stupid things like:

Unnecessary
Could have shot it
Could have tasered it
Why didn't they use tranquilizer darts
They should be sacked

...

It's a fast moving situation. It's liable to injury or even kill people. The incident about 1-2 years ago in Berkshire where a cow was hit by a Police Car had 2 people injured by the cow. The farmer on that occasion advised the Police that hitting it with the car was the only option.

In this case, a farmer also said "they probably did the only thing available" - and went on to say that shooting a cow, with a shotgun, in the dark, around cars and the public is not a good idea. They can't use stun guns, or tasers, they can't contain it.

So you can all sit behind your keyboards with your cups of coffee, but I'd love to see how you'd handle this.

Btw, the same was all said when the Police shot dead two dogs who were going nuts in public a while back.
Don't mind if I do with 46 years of live stock experience. And how many years experience do you have? I'm guessing at zero.

dickymint

24,924 posts

261 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
otolith said:
Watching the video on the BBC - it got up and ran away again after being hit by the car, so what is it that people think that achieved?
Achieved absolutely nothing. I find it odd that as we know It was captured and taken away nobody knows when or what happened in between ramming and capture.

The Gauge

2,368 posts

16 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
Dave Hedgehog said:
we used cattle prods all the time on my cousins dairy farm to encourage them to change direction if they were being unhelpful, i don't know if they are legal any more, but electric fences still are and cows are contained by them (mostly)
The police aren’t farmers who aren’t answerable to the public. Farmers can do as they wish. Police can’t just use taser cus they want to. They have to comply with Home Office guidelines and their tasers carry 50,000 volts.

otolith

57,284 posts

207 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
The officer has learned that next time a farmer fails to co rain his animals and they get loose where they could cause harm to people, he needs to be a little more firm with the throttle and brake a little later?
Next time the cow through the windscreen will provide feedback to ease off a bit.

DonkeyApple

56,825 posts

172 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
otolith said:
DonkeyApple said:
The officer has learned that next time a farmer fails to co rain his animals and they get loose where they could cause harm to people, he needs to be a little more firm with the throttle and brake a little later?
Next time the cow through the windscreen will provide feedback to ease off a bit.
That's going to be a risk that requires a lot of specialist training but having the skill to punt a cow over the hedge back into the field is clearly essential.

I think the real issue here is that they were provincial plod. A proper urban one would have years of experience wrestling enormous, violent and confused heffers to the ground every Saturday night outside 'Spoons.

Evanivitch

20,901 posts

125 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
The Gauge said:
The police aren’t farmers who aren’t answerable to the public. Farmers can do as they wish. Police can’t just use taser cus they want to. They have to comply with Home Office guidelines and their tasers carry 50,000 volts.
Handling of livestock in slaughterhouses (when they're often pretty damp stressed) is strictly controlled with cameras and approved handling techniques. You'll lose your job pretty quickly if found abusing animals. The idea anyone that handles animals can do as they wish is a joke.

TwigtheWonderkid

43,984 posts

153 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
dickymint said:
otolith said:
Watching the video on the BBC - it got up and ran away again after being hit by the car, so what is it that people think that achieved?
Achieved absolutely nothing.
I've done many things in my life that have achieved nothing. Trying to talk sense to people on here is one of them. The thing is, at the time of doing it, I thought it would achieve something, and that what I was doing was the best course of action.

Hindsight always comes with 20/20 vision. When I walk out of the football stadium at full time when the game has been lost, I'm surrounded by people picking the side that the manager should have picked.

DonkeyApple

56,825 posts

172 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
Evanivitch said:
Handling of livestock in slaughterhouses (when they're often pretty damp stressed) is strictly controlled with cameras and approved handling techniques. You'll lose your job pretty quickly if found abusing animals. The idea anyone that handles animals can do as they wish is a joke.
It's also remarkably easy to slam a bolt through a cows head when it is firmly held in position.

The issue here is that one had a large and seemingly startled creature that was moving about near people. People thinking some vet in the early hours is going to be operating at SAS target dispatch levels is in cloud cuckoo land. As are those who think plod should have tried to taser the large animal, putting themselves at risk if they were even able to get remotely close enough. In the absence of the farmer and his people to herd and restrain his own animal the police just did the logical last resort act which was to stop it running about by using a car. Very sad, very unfortunate but no one is to blame bar the owner of the animal and the chance are they did nothing wrong. Shot happens, no one else got hurt and in a spot of good fortune the cow will live a bit longer before a bolt is smashed through the top of its head and its carcass is sliced and diced and on the shelves tout suite.

Somewhatfoolish

Original Poster:

4,472 posts

189 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
Evanivitch said:
Handling of livestock in slaughterhouses (when they're often pretty damp stressed) is strictly controlled with cameras and approved handling techniques. You'll lose your job pretty quickly if found abusing animals. The idea anyone that handles animals can do as they wish is a joke.
It's also remarkably easy to slam a bolt through a cows head when it is firmly held in position.

The issue here is that one had a large and seemingly startled creature that was moving about near people. People thinking some vet in the early hours is going to be operating at SAS target dispatch levels is in cloud cuckoo land. As are those who think plod should have tried to taser the large animal, putting themselves at risk if they were even able to get remotely close enough. In the absence of the farmer and his people to herd and restrain his own animal the police just did the logical last resort act which was to stop it running about by using a car. Very sad, very unfortunate but no one is to blame bar the owner of the animal and the chance are they did nothing wrong. Shot happens, no one else got hurt and in a spot of good fortune the cow will live a bit longer before a bolt is smashed through the top of its head and its carcass is sliced and diced and on the shelves tout suite.
Quite a lot longer actually. It was apparently destined to be a breeding cow, which coincidentally is presumably the type the farmer will get most compensation fore. You can keep up with the fate of the cow in your favourite tabloid. Her name is Beau Lucy and she's currently single. I'm not making this up.

Edit: There's even a gypsy angle

Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Wednesday 19th June 16:12

otolith

57,284 posts

207 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
DonkeyApple said:
I think the real issue here is that they were provincial plod. A proper urban one would have years of experience wrestling enormous, violent and confused heffers to the ground every Saturday night outside 'Spoons.
At least this one won't accuse them of grabbing its udders.

Gary C

12,799 posts

182 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
what about the wimp doing laps around the car with the heifer following smile

otolith

57,284 posts

207 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
I've done many things in my life that have achieved nothing.
And do you say "That was the right thing to do" or "That was the wrong thing to do but seemed like a good idea at the time"?

DonkeyApple

56,825 posts

172 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
Somewhatfoolish said:
Quite a lot longer actually. It was apparently destined to be a breeding cow, which coincidentally is presumably the type the farmer will get most compensation fore. You can keep up with the fate of the cow in your favourite tabloid. Her name is Beau Lucy and she's currently single. I'm not making this up.

Edit: There's even a gypsy angle

Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Wednesday 19th June 16:12
The males are dead within a week or so maybe a few months at best for veal but they're normally exported for that not long after birth. The girls only get 18 mo this if they're for beef. Milk cows get around 4-5 years. Not sure how long she gets as a breeder? Or, for that matter, whether it ever was until the other day? wink

Edited by DonkeyApple on Wednesday 19th June 16:31

Evanivitch

20,901 posts

125 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
Somewhatfoolish said:
Quite a lot longer actually. It was apparently destined to be a breeding cow, which coincidentally is presumably the type the farmer will get most compensation fore. You can keep up with the fate of the cow in your favourite tabloid. Her name is Beau Lucy and she's currently single. I'm not making this up.

Edit: There's even a gypsy angle

Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Wednesday 19th June 16:12
Is breeding cow a euphemism used for dairy cattle these days?

Pica-Pica

14,164 posts

87 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
I've done many things in my life that have achieved nothing. Trying to talk sense to people on here is one of them. The thing is, at the time of doing it, I thought it would achieve something, and that what I was doing was the best course of action.

Hindsight always comes with 20/20 vision. When I walk out of the football stadium at full time when the game has been lost, I'm surrounded by people picking the side that the manager should have picked.
6/6 vision. No Americanisms here please!

TwigtheWonderkid

43,984 posts

153 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
otolith said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
I've done many things in my life that have achieved nothing.
And do you say "That was the right thing to do" or "That was the wrong thing to do but seemed like a good idea at the time"?
Often it was the right thing to do at the time, even though it didn't work out.

spants

1,065 posts

230 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
Mammasaid said:
spants said:
how many of you saying "at least the calf is ok" "the vet is looking after it" but still eat meat?

The calf is being patched up, and then killed for steak soon..... make the connection.
And?

I farm, we've got sheep and I'm in no doubt of where the lambs go from the auction. I also love a leg of lamb as much as the next man.

The sheep (and all our other animals) are kept to the highest possible standards that we can, and their welfare is paramount.
How long would they live for - naturally vs killed for food?.
No matter what you think your standards are - Red Tractor have already been exposed as a marketing scam - the animals suffer tremendously when their babies are removed and very stressed by transport to a slaughterhouse.

The "And?" part is obvious. You do not need meat and dairy in your diet.We have so many better options now. Go vegan for the animals.
(I live in the countryside, not a "townie")

monthou

4,704 posts

53 months

Wednesday 19th June
quotequote all
spants said:
How long would they live for - naturally vs killed for food?.
No matter what you think your standards are - Red Tractor have already been exposed as a marketing scam - the animals suffer tremendously when their babies are removed and very stressed by transport to a slaughterhouse.

The "And?" part is obvious. You do not need meat and dairy in your diet.We have so many better options now. Go vegan for the animals.
(I live in the countryside, not a "townie")
Presumably the answer is they wouldn't live at all, outside of zoos and hobby farms?