Local News

PETA plans billboard to honor ‘brave’ bull that tried to escape in Raynham

The billboard will be along I-495, near where the bull was killed on Aug. 12.

August 22, 2024

1 minute to read

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) plans to erect a billboard in honor of a bull killed in Raynham last Monday.

A statement from the organization said the billboard will be along I-495 displaying the slogan “Help Others Escape the Slaughterhouse: Please, Go Vegan.”

The bull escaped on Aug. 12 as its owners tried to load it onto a truck heading for a slaughterhouse, a press release from the Raynham Police Department said. It ran through Raynham streets, crashing through fences to escape, the statement said.

Police said the 1,300-pound, “highly aggressive” bull ran onto 1-495 and caused a three-car crash that sent one driver to the hospital.

An officer shot the bull in the leg after it charged at police, the department said. When that failed to subdue the animal, the bull’s owner used his hunting rifle and “effectively euthanized” it, according to police.

Police Chief David LaPlante commended the officers at the scene, praising the officers’ efforts to diffuse the situation.

However, PETA said the “brave” bull was trying to escape slaughter when police shot the “terrified” animal.

“This bull ran for his life and fought as hard as he could for his freedom, as any human would if someone tried to send them to slaughter,” says PETA Senior Director Danielle Katz. “PETA’s billboard will remind everyone that they can honor his bravery and win freedom for all other animals—from bulls to birds—by keeping them off their plates.”