Cow escapes slaughterhouse, runs loose through British city

Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A cow escaped from a British slaughterhouse and went for a run through a city, becoming a social media celebrity in the process.

The young, brown cow was spotted running near the M6 highway toward the center of Carlisle, England, Wednesday after escaping from the West Scottish Lamb Limited slaughterhouse.

Twitter users nicknamed the cow "Daisy" and used the hashtag "#SaveCarlisleCow" to call for the bovine to be spared from slaughter.

Cumbria Police said officers located the cow and made the decision to shoot and kill the animal.

"Efforts were made to resolve the situation safely, however given the potential danger and the increased stress on the animal a decision was taken to conclude the incident as quickly and humanely as possible," a police representative said in a statement.