No bull as firefighters rescue calm male bovine after trailer flip on the outskirts of Cork City

The bull remained calm despite being trapped in a trailer that jackknifed and flipped over near the Dunkettle Interchange

After they got the call about the flipped trailer, left, members of Cork City Fire Brigade presumed they would be dealing with a raging bull but it turned out there was no charge — literally or financially. 

When the emergency call came in, they were expecting to encounter a raging bull.

But when they got to the scene of this livestock trailer road traffic incident on the outskirts of Cork City on Sunday, members of Cork City Fire Brigade instead found perhaps the calmest bull in Ireland.

Which was a relief for all involved given how his livestock trailer had just jackknifed and flipped over on one of the approaches to one of the country’s busiest junctions.

The incident occurred on a roundabout near Little Island on one of the new link approach roads to the Dunkettle interchange on Sunday evening.

The bull remained remarkably calm and docile despite being trapped inside the locked and damaged trailer after the incident in Little Island on Sunday evening. 

A Ford 4X4 was transporting the bull in a livestock trailer when the trailer jackknifed and flipped over onto its side as it was negotiating the roundabout.

The bull remained trapped inside the locked and damaged trailer.

Emergency services were alerted and gardaí and three units of Cork City Fire Brigade, two fire tenders, and a rescue tender, rushed to the scene.

The roundabout and some approach roads around it were closed off for some time, and diversions were put in place, while a rescue and recovery operation was discussed.

Second officer Victor Shine said despite the nature of the vehicle turnover, and the shock it must have caused to the driver of the jeep, and his bovine passenger in the trailer, this particular bull, despite their reputation, remained quite calm and docile throughout, which allowed fire fighters to focus on the extraction without the fear of a charge.

They used hydraulic pumps to jack up the rear of the jeep up, and stablised it on specialised cribbing before they used cutting equipment to remove some of the trailer’s side panels to facilitate the safe removal of the bull.

Gardaí and firefighters on the scene near the Dunkettle Interchange on the east side of Cork City where the livestock trailer being drawn by a Ford 4X4 overturned. 

Despite the noise associated with the operation, the animal stayed calm, and almost cooperative.

Its owners, a man and woman who were on the scene throughout, helped in its removal from the damaged trailer, and its reloading into another trailer for removal from the scene.

The bull escaped unharmed.

But sources said he might need a good wash afterwards given that a lot of what they believed was his own waste material, which had been on the trailer floor, spilled all over the place as it flipped.

Mr Shine said while the circumstances of the incident were unusual, it was just another callout, albeit one of the more complex ones, for the firefighters involved.

Firefighters have responded to several road traffic incidents involving live animals before, and often discuss it in training scenarios.

When the emergency call came in, they were expecting to encounter a raging bull.

But when they got to the scene of this livestock trailer road traffic incident on the outskirts of Cork City on Sunday, members of Cork City Fire Brigade instead found perhaps the calmest bull in Ireland.

And thankfully for all involved, there was no charge — literally or financially.