Birmingham's on-the-run bull rehomed in Norfolk after ‘unexpected' city break

Glasgow Times

8 hours ago

The stray bovine, thought to be around two years old, was safely contained by Birmingham City Council staff on Friday after being spotted by startled passers-by in New Bond Street, Digbeth, shortly before 9.30am.
Street cleaning crews corralled what the council described as the 'beautiful albeit misplaced' animal until it was checked over by an animal welfare team and then transferred to the care of West Midlands Police.
Wendy Valentine, founder of the Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Frettenham, near Norwich, said of the bull: 'We became aware of his desperate break for freedom when we received multiple calls from concerned supporters asking if we could help.
'We sprang into action and negotiated with the Birmingham police, assuring them that we could give him a secure home here at Hillside.
'With nobody coming forward to claim him, they agreed that we could collect him and bring him to our sanctuary.'
The bull, which arrived at Hillside at about 2.45am on Saturday, has been named Liam and will now live out its natural life with the sanctuary's 750 other rescued cattle.
A video released by the sanctuary showed the bull munching hay in its new surroundings around a minute after its arrival.
Council staff efforts to keep the animal and the public safe won praise from councillor Majid Mahmood, Birmingham's cabinet member for environment and transport, who wrote beside a picture of the bull on X: 'This magnificent animal seemed to be enjoying an unexpected break, but our amazing street cleansing staff weren't phased at all, helping moving it into a safe place.
'Well done to our animal welfare staff & park rangers.'
Footage of the bull amid city traffic went viral on social media on Friday, prompting jokes it may be heading towards Birmingham's Bull Ring shopping area.