National News

Bull on tracks disrupts trains between Newark and New York

Exactly how the bull came to be loose, who owns it and other details about the bovine's walk around Newark weren't immediately clear.

By Associated Press

December 15, 2023

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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A loose bull in New Jersey’s largest city found its way onto train tracks, snarling rail traffic for a while Thursday before it was captured, authorities said.

The ruddy brown bull with long, dark-tipped horns stood on the tracks at Newark Penn Station, prompting a police response and holding up train traffic between New Jersey and New York Penn Station for nearly an hour, according to New Jersey Transit.

Police officers eventually cornered the animal in a fenced lot about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) away from the station, according to a statement from Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé. The bull will be sent to a local animal sanctuary, Fragé said.

No injuries were reported, the director said.

Exactly how the bull came to be loose, who owns it and other details about the bovine’s walk around Newark weren’t immediately clear.

It wasn’t the first time a bull has been loose in Newark.

In 2006, it took authorities 10 hours to capture a bull roaming around the city, according to NBC News. Two years before that a steer escaped a slaughterhouse and wandered around Newark before it was captured and sent to a sanctuary, NBC reported.

Skylands Animal Sanctuary And Rescue in Wantage, New Jersey reportedly took the animal in, adding that his name is Ricardo and he “had a long, rough day of fighting for his life.”