Police 'cowboyish' in shooting out of control steer

Come one move on!!!! Other pressing matters to worry about. #27 Good one, agree.

This happened right outside our Flat! It looked hardly uncontainable, was a big fella though

That cattlebeast is at least 5 times bigger than a human, police guns are sized for humans - hence several shots. Also the last thing they want is to have a wounded animal running bezerk. A bullet costs a few cents and even if the steer was mortally wounded after say 3 shots, two extra ones to make sure and to have it die quickly are well worth it. All you who feel sorry for the steer - do you eat meat? How do you think things happen in that industry, I assure you there are no tranquiliser darts and gentle coaxing.

Ok guys, lets just take a breath here. Yes it could have been tranqed but apart from the Zoo perhaps, who in Chch would have a dart gun?

The animal would have taken a long time to calm down, 5-6 hrs at least. Where was it supposed to be contained at the time? Didnt realise there were good sets of yards in the middle of Chch....

And as for the witness who says that you needed to shoot it between the eyes, obviously he's never shot a cattle beast. You cant shoot them between the eyes, that never drops them.

People who think that the police should have shot a moving target between the eyes, or better still, had a vet come in and tranquilise the steer, live in a magical place where anything is possible. If they think this is sad, they should enter the supermarket meat aisle.

you people are a bunch of whingers. i bet you would all be crying out if they hadn't shot it, and it had been hit by a car during rush hour or something equivilant. 'wah wah the cops aren't doing their job'

Good on them for making an executive decision on the day, one that at the time seemed to justify the situation and more than likely prevented further damage to the surrounding area and the people in it. It was a shame the animal had to die, but i daresay it was destined for the dinner table anyway.

David they need guts not to pander to people like yourself. I'm not surprised they shot it 5 times, it's the instinctive reaction when you want to make sure, big deal. 5 shots over the course of about 5 seconds I would imagine. You don't have a clue where they shot it in any case.

If the animal had run on to the road and gone through a windshield killing someone who would you blaim them.

Come on you arm chair critics stop complaining, these guys and girls (police) put themselves on the line for YOU all the time. The only people who should be ashamed are those of you who complain from the safety of your arm chairs.

Thanks to the lack of detail in this news report I am left with questions such as: did the police liaise with the SPCA or other suitable organisations? As others have already said, the police are not trained in dealing with animals, so I would like to think that they made an effort to seek expertise and to achieve the best possible outcome for all, including the steer. And why was the steer shot when it was in the sports grounds, of all places? Certainly not an imminent risk to the public there, and these grounds were a safe place where it could run out of steam and calm down.

Grant

Guts?

How much guts do you need to shoot a defenceless animal?? And to shoot it five times??? Surely these guys are bright enough to realise you need to hit a large animal between the eyes.....but obviously not.