Vigil for Woodley cow sees mourners pay respects and lay flowers

A crowd of campaigners from Vegan Action for Animals gathered at 8pm last night (May 20) on Loddon Bridge Road, the road where the runaway cow was killed.

Bright flowers were laid on the grass verge and candles were lit in memory of the cow.

The group organiser spoke to the Chronicle and said: "We were appalled, horrified and outraged by the actions of Thames Valley Police. The actions that they took last week were unnecessarily brutal. We have seen, even just over the weekend, that seven other cows got free up north and all seven of those cows were returned safely to where they belong.

READ MORE: 'Significant danger': Police say hitting cow with car was 'necessary' as it 'charged at public'

"We call ourselves a nation of animal lovers, how can we call ourselves a nation of animal lovers when our police force think that it is acceptable to ram a cow four times with a vehicle before shooting her?"

The incident last week has been described as 'barbaric' by some members of the Wokingham and Reading community, prompting the public to ask why the cow wasn't dealt with in a more 'humane way'.

Despite campaigners wanting more answers from TVP, the force said they took the decision at the time because the cow was causing a "significant danger to motorists",

The police said the cow even charged at a member of the public causing her minor injury. A police officer was also taken to hospital with injuries.

The action group said: "What we have been aiming for since her murder was for an explanation and an apology from the police.

"So far there has been no explanation as to who authorised this to happen or why this was chosen as an acceptable or reasonable use of force."