Eight bulls escape from Massachusetts rodeo, one still missing

Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Eight bulls escaped from a rodeo event at a Massachusetts mall and all but one was safely captured, firefighters said.

The North Attleboro Fire Department said crews were summoned when the bulls fled from the rodeo at the Emerald Square Mall about 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

A witness captured video of the bulls running through a parking lot and crashing through a chain-link fence.

"The bulls then fled south from the parking lot towards the woods behind BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse," the Fire Department said.

One of the bulls was recaptured shortly after the escape, and firefighters were joined by police and rodeo personnel in searching for the remaining bovines.

Six of the bulls were found trapped behind a fence at a home on Prescott Street in Attleboro on Sunday afternoon, and they were safely loaded into a trailer.

One bull remained on the loose Monday.

"Community members should exercise extreme caution and not approach the bull if found," the fire department said.

No injuries were reported from the escape or subsequent chase. An investigation has been opened into how the animals escaped.

The incident earned a sharp rebuke from animal rights group PETA.

"We have seen it last year in Utah, this summer in Oregon, and now in Massachusetts: When bulls, who can be quite manageable and even gentle when not provoked, get the chance to escape being shocked with electric prods, wounded with sharp spurs, and slammed to the ground in rodeos, they take it as anyone else would," PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a statement.

"Rodeos put animal torment at center stage, and PETA urges people everywhere to stay away. Meanwhile, these bulls deserve to live," Reiman said.