By Ivan Pereira
A brazen bull decided to make a run for it from a Jamaica slaughterhouse last week, much to the enjoyment of pedestrians who cheered it on.
The bovine galloped through the streets of southeast Queens right around 1:30 p.m. Aug. 10 when he broke loose from his butchers at the slaughterhouse near Tuckerton Street and Liberty Avenue, according to a tow truck driver who was at the scene when the escape took place.
The driver, who asked to be identified as Moe, 22, of Lynbrook, L.I., and works for Vice Towing, videotaped part of the bull run and uploaded it to the Internet, where it has become a viral hit.
“I saw people standing, the bull looked at all of us and [it] just went on,” said the tow truck driver, who was at the scene with his co-worker John Cohen.
Moe said the bull did not harm anyone or anything while it was making its escape and at first ran around in circles as it came down Tuckerton Street. Eventually it made a right onto the appropriately named Liberty Avenue and kept going.
“These butchers were chasing it, too, in two vans,” Moe said.
The bull eventually made its way to York College’s campus, where it was subdued and hauled out, according to the tow truck driver. It was not known who brought down the four-legged fugitive, as both the NYPD and city Animal Care and Control said they were not at the scene.
The slaughterhouse owners could not be reached for comment as of press time Tuesday and a spokeswoman for York College declined to comment about the incident.
This is not the first time a bovine has caused a scene on the streets of Queens.
Nearly four years ago, a cow escaped from a slaughterhouse and ran away on Union Turnpike in Briarwood before the police tranquilized it. Two years ago, a cow which was eventually named Molly escaped from another slaughterhouse in Jamaica and found itself in the driveway of a home at 109th Avenue and 147th Street.
In both cases, the bovines were taken to animal shelters where they went on to live full lives, according to the authorities.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
