Dead cow falls off truck onto motorway

A dead cow that fell from a truck on the Southern Motorway near Mt Wellington is loaded onto a truck for removal. Photo / Nick Reed

A meaty carcass has been scooped up off Auckland's Southern Motorway this afternoon.

A police officer at the scene told the Herald the cow had climbed over the barriers of the first trailer on the meat truck and fell onto the motorway just near the turn off at Mt Wellington Highway exit 434 this afternoon.

It's thought the cow died on impact, but if it was still alive the subsequent trailer would have finished it off.

It's also believed the cow was en route to the slaughter house when it jumped off the truck.

A photo taken by the Herald shows the deceased cow covered by blue tarpaulin on the back of a tow-truck after it was picked up off the motorway.