http://www.examiner.com/pet-rescue-i...o-escaped-cows
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/201...cattle-111102/
From the first link
Quote:
Gatineau, Quebec - It's another YouTube video gone viral that shows Gatineau police open fire on an escaped cow late last week. Over 156,000 viewers have since watched the graphic video of police cars, lights, sirens - narrated by a witness who cannot believe that the police are really shooting the cow with "real" bullets.
The two cows, on their way to a slaughterhouse had a great idea to escape, but weren't lucky enough as some other escaped animals who have found sanctuary from rescue groups. These two cows, according to police were "threatening and dangerous."
The owner of the cows gave police permission to shoot the animals.
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From the second link
Quote:
A senior police officer in Gatineau, Que., is defending the fatal police shooting of two cattle last week, saying a video that captured the incident and was posted online -- does not show the whole story.
In an open letter to the media issued Tuesday, deputy police Chief Luc Beaudoin says his officers killed the animals because they were threatening the public.
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Quote:
Beaudoin acknowledged that the public is questioning why police didn't use tranquilizers or corral the animals that were already destined for the slaughterhouse when they escaped from a trailer last Thursday.
But he says the video is 77 seconds long and does not reflect the reality of the intervention, which lasted more than an hour, during which, he says, police consulted with the animals' owner and other cattle breeders in an effort to calm the animals and isolate them.
"An hour during which every attempt failed, and during which one of the animals, who may not have appeared dangerous to witnesses who had not seen the preceding 60 minutes, charged vehicles, moved a trailer by its sheer physical strength, and managed to once again escape, right there in the city near a school and busy roads."
Beaudoin also says police contacted wildlife officers "who unfortunately were unable to assist us."
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and finally...the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Jry92dhOtaw
IMO the video is not the best quality but it would appear that a house or some other kind of structure was in the line of fire during the first shooting, it also looks like a car was in the line of fire. (look towards the end, appears to be a driveway of some kind to the "left" of the camera man with the nose of a car entering a couple of frames)
Moreover, what kind of a city boy uses a pistol on large game like a cow?
What was accomplished with 10 pistol shots could have been done quick and clean with a single shotgun or rifle shot to the right area. This reminds me of that scene from "Me, Myself and Irene!"
So I will pose three questions: #1 if you were the officer, would you have shot in this case with your pistol, #2 considering the proximity and apparent lines of fire would you have shot if you had a rifle or shotgun, #3 Would you have shot ole Besse at all, or sought some alternate solution to the "rampaging" bovine?
For me
#1 NO
#2 Heck No
#3 There has GOT to be a better way to stop the cow than shooting it. Rope it, trank it, or trick the ow into moving to an enclosed or fenced off area. Cops all over the country(well America, not Canada) seem to stop escaped cows all the time without the need to fire 10 shots in close proximity to a populated area.
Also, This is more of a "tactics and training" thing IMO than legal at this point but if the mods feel they want to move it go for it.