Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Songwriter Diane Warren to adopt last cow found after mass breakout from slaughterhouse

The cow was one of 40 to break free from a slaughterhouse

Chantal da Silva
Thursday 24 June 2021 22:19 BST
Comments
Cow lashes out at volunteer after escaping Californian slaughterhouse
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

A cow that had run free for nearly two days after escaping a California slaughterhouse in a mass breakout will be spared from its initial fate, with American songwriter Diane Warren volunteering to adopt the animal.

Around 40 cows escaped from the Manning Beef slaughterhouse, before running through a Pico Rivera neighbourhood near Los Angeles, stunning residents.

As the escape unfolded on Tuesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department tweeted urged the public to avoid certain streets as they responded to the situation.

One cow was fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies after the animal appeared to be charging at people in the neighbourhood, with several members of one family left injured in the incident, according to ABC 7 News.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were eventually able to round up 38 cows, trapping them on a cul-de-sac.

According to ABC 7 News, the cows appeared “reluctant” as two trailers from the beef plant arrived to take them away, with the animals backing as far away from the vehicles as they could as the trucks pulled in.

Just the one cow remained on the loose and now, it appears it will remain free, at least from the slaughterhouse, with Ms Warren, who rose to prominence in the 1980s and has written at least nine no 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, set to adopt the creature.

In a tweet, the songwriter confirmed the news, saying: “I had to do something”, as supporters cheered on the move.

Earlier, after the cows first escaped, the Grammy winner had wrote: “This breaks my f***ing heart. These poor babies escaping for their lives. They know their fate. How cruel human beings are.”

In a statement published online, PETA suggested that all of the cows who escaped the slaughterhouse should be able to remain free.

“PETA wishes the cows who escaped...had made it to freedom, something they fought hard to gain, instead of being rounded up and returned to the slaughterhouse or – in one cow’s case – being shot on the scene by law enforcement,” the organisation said.

“These cows’ desperate bid for freedom should have been recognized by moving them to a sanctuary, where they could have bonded with other rescued cows, nursed their calves in peace, and lived out their lives just as you and I hope to do,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a separate statement.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in