Community Corner

Runaway Calf on the Loose

There have been three sightings of the Orange resident's animal in Milford.

If you happen to see a black calf wandering around town, it's probably a runaway feeder calf that may have been set for slaughter.

A black calf has been sighted at least three times in Milford in the past week, according to Animal Control Officer Rick George.

The calf was first spotted around 6:15 p.m. July 6 on Edgefield Avenue near Foran High School, according to George.

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"It's also been seen the last two or three nights grazing at the Gulf Pond area at about 8 o'clock," George said.

It's easy enough to spot.

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"It's between 275 pounds and 400 pounds," he said.

But it's hard to catch.

"I guess nobody can catch it because it runs away from everybody — and obviously it's a large animal," he said.

"It's doing a good job of hiding."

The runaway calf — which is not considered a danger to humans — is believed to have jumped a fence at an unspecified Orange farm, on the West Haven line, according to George.

According to First Selectman Jim Zeoli, he’d heard the calf was purchased by someone in the Prindle Hill area and when it arrived in Orange, it was let into a pen, jumped the fence and never looked back.

In Orange, the calf was seen in the Prindle Hill, Marsh Hill and Indian River Road area, then reportedly headed off to Milford. “Nobody knows where it is,” Zeoli said.

Zeoli, who raises cows, has been helping George with ideas on how to catch the calf.

“The first thing you have to do is find it. If it’s near one of the schools, try to get it inside a fenced in play yard and then take it from there.”

Zeoli said, if you see the calf don’t approach it like you would a petting zoo animal, because you will only spook it more. “It won’t harm you, but Animal Control must know about all sightings and be able to map out where it’s going.”

He said the calf poses a safety hazard because it is black and would be hard to see at night. “If it runs out into the street at night and someone hit it with a car it would be worse than hitting a deer, so let’s hope it’s found before that,” he said.  

A feeder calf is a steer or heifer, six to nine months old, which is fed for fattening before slaughter, according to Agripedia.

According to WikiAnswers.com, most feeder cattle are steers between six and 24 months old that are fed a grain diet "to be fattened for the meat shop."

This particular calf has run away before, according to George.

"But it's never come into Milford before," he said.

The animal is apparently milking this journey for all it can get. After all, Milford -- known as the Small City with a Big Heart -- has a history of saving animals who are smart enough to give the slaughterhouse the slip.

Take , the white domestic turkey that was found running down Bridgeport Avenue shortly before Thanksgiving nearly three years ago.

Animal control officers, who suspected she had escaped a truck bound for slaughter, took her in. Now, she rules the roost at Milford Animal Control headquarters at Silver Sands State Park.

Anyone who spots the runaway calf is asked to call Milford Animal Control at (203) 783-3279.

Editor's Note: The Orange Police have no information or report about this incident. Even though The calf is reportedly from Orange, it was not reported to police and therefore is not a police case.


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