A bull has no place on an interstate. Can we all agree on that?
Good — because there’s been little agreement on what to do about the bull that’s been loose for the past six months on a wooded tract at the intersection of I-75 and I-675, near the border of Henry and Clayton counties.
During that time, alarmed drivers have been calling local authorities to report sightings and voice concerns that the big animal — brown and white, with a handsome set of horns — will wander onto what officials say is among the busiest highway corridors in metro Atlanta.
“It’s on the side of the road,” one typical caller told the 911 operator. “It’s not causing a problem yet, but it certainly could.”
Meanwhile, county and state officials have been busy with inter-governmental finger-pointing, buck-passing and blame-gaming.
Henry County officials, who want to tranquilize the animal and remove it, say the state Department of Transportation won’t grant permission to temporarily close down the highways to effect the capture. Henry doesn’t want to risk a panicked bull charging into traffic.
“We’ve been trying to communicate the urgency to Georgia DOT,” said Henry spokeswoman Julie Hoover-Ernst.
DOT says shutting down two interstates for an operation that could take hours, at the least, simply isn’t feasible.
Clayton officials, meanwhile, want no part of the mess and are referring all calls to their sister county.
“It’s all on Henry,” said Clayton County police spokeswoman Danielle Rosa.
The bull, for its part, has dozens of acres of woodlands to wander, a pond nearby to drink from, and lots of grass to eat. Police sometimes receive several calls a week to report that it’s been spotted wandering by the side of the road. It’s unclear if it has ventured into the lanes of traffic.
Angela Norris saw the bull in late August on her way to work, and then again the next morning. On the third day, she just had to pull over and take a photo.
“He was eating, he looked up at us, and then he started running,” reported Norris, 53, of Jackson.
Ernst saw the bull first-hand Saturday night while driving home from a girl’s night out in Atlanta. At first it was just a large, dark shape in the distance, then her headlights hit it.
“Was that what I think it was?” her friend asked.
“That was exactly what you think it was,” Ernst responded.
When the first calls came in several months ago, some people dismissed the beast as an urban myth. The animal has been alternately described as a cow, a bull and a steer. No matter which it is, more and more reports came in.
According to DOT spokeswoman Jill Goldberg, the creature escaped after an accident that involved a truck carrying livestock. All the animals were retrieved but two bulls. One was eventually corralled in an enclosed pasture.
The sightings have made their way onto social media, including this tweet a week ago from Channel 2 Action News; “COW ALERT: Clayton PD tells us a cow wandered onto I-675/nb north of I-75 and someone crashed off to right trying to miss it. #wsbtv”
Tuesday, inquiries from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution prompted a flurry of phone calls between Henry County and DOT officials.
“We’re hoping to resolve this safely. We’re not wanting to sit and play the blame game,” Ernst said.
Shortly thereafter, DOT’s Goldberg announced a compromise.
DOT will construct a pen near the intersection and hopes to lure the bull into it. The pen will be stocked with sweet feed, water and salt, a bovine delicacy. Someone offered to place a cow there to entice the bull, but DOT declined.
“There are liability issues,” Goldberg said.
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