WATCH ABOVE: Warm weather means more animals could be darting onto roadways. Marianne Dimain reports.
Three York Region police officers went from from wrangling crime to wrangling cows Tuesday morning when a group of bovines broke through a farm fence and ended up on a major road north of Toronto.
The area, Kipling Avenue at King Vaughan Road, was closed to traffic after police tweeted that a horned cow named Damian — known to charge people — led the break for freedom.
One tweet joked that the situation was — quote — “udderly unacceptable.”
Police rounded up the cows, which they say are repeat offenders.
While these situations can seem humourous, authorities warn that animals on the road can lead to dangerous situations.
“We were dealing with two cows that got released from a farm and were walking on some major roads in our region, so drivers need to be careful,” said Const. Andy Pattenden from York police.
The OPP cautions drivers against swerving to avoid small animals such as chipmunks or ducklings, as cute as they may be.
“We don’t want drivers putting themselves at risk or putting others at risk to avoid a collision,” said OPP Highway Safety Division Sgt. Kerry Schmidt. “Very often what we’ve seen is drivers swerving out of the way to avoid an animal only to be involved in a collision with somebody else which can cause injury.”
With files from the Canadian Press and Marianne Dimain
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