Rampaging cow escapes from Ennis Mart

A RUNAWAY cow caused chaos in Ennis when it escaped from the mart and knocked over a garda and other members of the public on Tuesday morning.

The animal was described as being “extremely dangerous” by Clare ISPCA animal welfare officer Frankie Coote who was at the scene.
The cow escaped at around 11am from the mart on the Quin Road before it rampaged along the Clon Road. The animal was even tually forced back to the mart, which was filled with hundreds of people at the time.
A garda, who was at the scene, was knocked to the ground by the cow, while a number of other people who tried to help control the animal were also bowled over by the animal.
None of the injuries sustained were serious and nobody was hospitalised as a result of the incident.
A number of farmers helped to eventually corral the anxious animal when a number of tame cows were released, calming it down.
The cow was then brought to a nearby field, where, according to Mr Coote, the animal continued to act out.
“I was called to the scene by the gardaí and there was traffic chaos at the time. Great credit is due to the garda who intervened and the others who were knocked down, they stopped the cow from coming into town and if that happened, things could have been a lot more serious,” he said.
“When the cow was brought back to the mart, the farmers released six other tame cows and she followed them into a field. There were fears that she could do damage and later on, she was moved to another field. I’ve contacted the Department of Agriculture and they are looking into this,” he added.
Mr Coote described the incident as a “freak” event. “There are hundreds of thousands of cattle going through the mart without something like this happening. Whatever was wrong with her I don’t know, it could have been one of many things but she was extremely dangerous. Only for the gardaí and the people who got knocked down, it could have been an awful lot more serious,” he concluded.