Olé mackerel! Bull finally caught
No bull: Barnie the Long Island bull has been rescued.
The roaming bovine that eluded capture for almost two months has been found safely, the Suffolk County SCPA said Thursday.
The 1,500 pound bull, nicknamed Barnie, has been on the lam since July 20 when he escaped a slaughter house on Barnes Road in Manorville, cops said.
Barnie was last seen gallivanting through residential neighborhoods in Moriches and the adjacent town Mastic. The animal briefly shut down a portion of a highway shortly after his getaway, cops said.
Mike Stura, president and founder of Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue was able to lure Barnie into a headlock feeder safely around 11 p.m. Wednesday at a farm in Moriches, authorities said.
Stura, who has been rescuing animals since 2010, was alerted to Barnie’s escape in July.
He got into contact with the owner of a large piece of property in Moriches and asked to set up cameras to keep an eye on
Barnie.
“He really never left the area he escaped from,” Strura explained. “He was right within a quarter mile of where he escaped from the entire time.”
Stura believes Barnie was living off of a lush green weed called mugwort, which begins to dry out as the summer season comes to an end.
“It really worked out to our benefit that the season is changing. One of his favorite foods is becoming not so desirable. He started losing interest in the other stuff and that made the really good stuff we were offering even better.”
Stura quickly realized he would not be able to corral Barnie due to his size and got a headlock feeder from a distributor in Pennsylvania.
“He is feisty and he is a powerhouse,” said Stura. “He’s powerful.”
As the mugwort dried up, Barnie became more interested in the alfalfa and hay Stura had left in the feeder.
“We watched him get a little more confident until we got to the point where he was in it enough that had I let it, it would catch him.”
On Wednesday, the contraption tripped and caught the beast. Stura took Barnie to his animal safe haven, Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue, in Wantage, N.J., where he will live out the rest of his life.
The 232-acre farm houses animals that were neglected or destined for slaughter and live markets and provides them with proper veterinary services, food, water and care, Stura said.
Barnie is quarantined at the sanctuary while a veterinarian checks his blood and confirms he is safe to live amongst the other 93 cows on the property.
“He’s very high-strung right now,” said Stura. “It’s been a hell of a 15 hours for him.”