Mart rampage cow was pregnant but has lost her calf

THE rogue cow at the centre of a raging rampage in Co Clare on Tuesday morning was pregnant at the time and has since lost her calf.

The carcass of a dead calf could be seen yesterday close to a bush where the cow had been resting on Wednesday and again yesterday. The cow was placed in the field on Tuesday after she escaped from Ennis mart while being unloaded from a cattle box.

The animal made her break for freedom at around 11am on Tuesday and raced along the Quin Road straight towards Ennis town, running down a garda and three members of the public who sustained only minor injuries.

A spokesman for Clare Marts confirmed the cow has lost her calf but wouldn’t speculate on how or why this occurred. Several farmers said however they believed that the animal became so distressed by Tuesday’s incident that her unborn calf died.

It is believed that the pregnant cow became agitated while being removed from a cattle box and that it had been the first time the animal had been transported in a box.

One farmer said: “This cow was used to one person all her life, the farmer who owned her.

“She went wild because she was being handled by people who didn’t know how to handle her. It was all new to her and she got spooked.”

Another mart-goer said: “I was here on Tuesday and I could see that was reluctant to come out of box. She was probably never in a box before in her life and had only ever been between fields.

“All the excitement of the cattle box could have set her off but the way they were trying to get her out of the box with sticks and all, they definitely frightened her.”

During the course of yesterday morning, the cow left the carcass and moved to another part of the field but returned and lay down next to the dead calf for a time later.

A spokesman confirmed: “She is out in the field grazing with her comrades and she is grand and quiet. As long as people leave her alone, she will be fine.”

It is believed the owner will try to move the cow back to his farm some time today.

The calf carcass was removed yesterday and taken away to be destroyed.