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Never was a bulls-eye more sorely needed than when it took a police officer 12 bullets to end the life of "Horny" the bull after he "rampaged" through a residential area in West Auckland.
The $2000 Hereford breeding bull was shot nine times in the body and a further three times in the head on West Auckland's Scenic Drive last week, drawing protests that a tranquilliser gun could have been used.
Horny's owner Barry Turnwald was devastated to learn his prized bull had been killed in the blaze of gunfire. Three-year-old Horny, who was named after his large horns had to be cut off, was two days into a six-week breeding stint at a Titirangi farm. Horny, who weighed 460kg, had stayed at the farm around the same time last year.
"Horny was one of my mates," Turnwald said. "He had heaps of handling from us. He was used to staying at other farms during mating season. I just needed to call his name and he'd climb on to the back of the truck."
But witness Ray Thomas said Horny broke through three fences and was on a "rampage".
"It wouldn't settle," Thomas said. "One woman said she had patted it, but we couldn't get near it when we got there. I'm glad the cop shot it. Perhaps he needed to go back to the firing range, but it all happened in 10 seconds, so I don't think it suffered."
The sergeant who shot the bull, Grant Watson, said Horny had a near miss with a vehicle. Efforts to contain him in a paddock were unsuccessful.
"We herded the bull for about an hour," Watson said. "I know 12 shots sounds extreme, but it was a very large animal. I made the final decision when the bull headed back up Shaw Road that I just couldn't afford for that bull to get back out on to Scenic Drive, which has a 70k/ph speed limit and many blind corners."
Watson said he was unable to kill the "moving" bull with one head shot. He added the animal control officer did not have equipment to tranquillise Horny. The Waitakere animal welfare officer did not return Herald on Sunday calls yesterday.
Turnwald initially thought Horny was used for target practice. After talking to police, his anger subsided, but he still believes Horny's life could have been spared by trapping him.
"They didn't know the basics of how to handle animals," Turnwald said. "The cop told me he put nine shots into Horny's side as he was walking past heading towards the bush. Once he fell, the animal welfare officer ordered him to put another three in his head to make sure he was dead. I'm glad they shot him if he was out of control because I wouldn't like him to have hurt anyone."
The farmer who hired Horny believed authorities should have opted for a tranquilliser gun before picking up the semi-automatic rifle.
"There was probably a bunch of misjudgments," the farmer, who didn't want to be named, said. "What I thought was wrong was they didn't have a tranquilliser gun. We pay animal welfare to look after the welfare of our animals. It's a very sad story."
Police had been open about the incident and told the farmer he could pursue a civil complaint if he was unhappy.
Both farmers have resigned themselves to the fact Horny will become dog food. Turnwald expects to be reimbursed by the farmer who hired the bull.
Meanwhile Hans Kriek of animal welfare group SAFE also believes there were more humane ways to settle Horny than a rain of bullets.
"I wasn't there but, by the sounds, the cop probably didn't know how to shoot it," Kriek said. "If there was an animal control officer there, why didn't he shoot it? They are supposed to be trained in dealing with livestock on the roads. It doesn't sound great, does it?
"They could have got a tranquilliser gun if they wanted to. "I'm sure places like the Zoo would have these things handy. But it's hard to second guess their decision because I wasn't there."
