Latest news with #WendyValentine
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Birmingham's on-the-run bull rehomed in Norfolk after ‘unexpected' city break
A bull spotted trotting through city streets – after apparently escaping from an abattoir – has been given a new home by an animal sanctuary. 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.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Moo-ving story! Runaway bull that terrified passers-by as it tore round Birmingham is happily rehomed in animal sanctuary
A bull spotted rampaging through the streets through city streets after escaping from a slaughterhouse has been rehomed by an animal sanctuary. The stray bovine, thought to be around two years old, was safely contained by Birmingham City Council staff on Friday after being spotted by terrified passers-by in New Bond Street, Digbeth, shortly before 9.30am. Shocking footage showed the bull charging down the pavement before running into the road and towards a busy roundabout, bringing traffic to a stop. Council staff helped officers herd the bull into a nearby former Dunelm site where animal welfare and park rangers kept it and the public safe. Taking to Facebook, one shocked passer-by wrote: 'What on earth is a bull doing in such a built up area.' Another added: 'Wow!!! Not something you see every day. Where on earth has it come from?' A third person said: 'Did the bullring statue come to life? Coz why is there a bull running around by St Andrews.' 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: '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 Sanctuary said in a Facebook post yesterday: 'A young bull, terrified and alone was running around the streets of Birmingham this morning. 'Thanks to the police he was corralled in a carpark and is now being loaded ready to head to us at the 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 happily 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.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Birmingham's free-running bull rehomed in Norwich animal sanctuary
A bull that ran loose through the streets of Birmingham – after apparently escaping from an abattoir – has been given a new home by an animal sanctuary in Norfolk. The stray bovine, thought to be about two years old, was safely contained by Birmingham city council staff on Friday after being spotted by passersby 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 a welfare team and then transferred to the care of West Midlands police. It was unclear where the large black bull came from or why it was running loose. Wendy Valentine, founder of the Hillside animal sanctuary in Frettenham, near Norwich, said: '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 arrived at Hillside at about 2.45am on Saturday, has been named Liam and will live with the sanctuary's 750 other rescued cattle. A video released by the sanctuary showed the bull munching hay in its new surroundings within minutes of its arrival. Majid Mahmood, a councillor and Birmingham's cabinet member for environment and transport, posted a picture of the bull on X and wrote: '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.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Video footage shared online on Friday showed the animal charging around streets in east Birmingham, galloping past cars on a road near a roundabout and running along pavements. The incident prompted jokes online that it may have been heading towards Birmingham's Bullring or whether the bronze statue of the animal guarding the shopping centre had come to life. In Birmingham's New Street railway station, a 10-metre mechanical bull built for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony sits on the central concourse. It was named Ozzy in a public vote after the rock star Ozzy Osbourne, who comes from the city.
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Birmingham bull on the loose settles into Norfolk home
A bull found loose on the streets of Birmingham has begun to settle in to his new home at an animal sanctuary - 170 miles bull was seen roaming the streets of Digbeth on Friday morning before it was eventually ushered in to a former Dunelm store for Valentine, who runs the Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Frettenham, Norfolk, said she drove for several hours to pick up the bull and transfer it to its new home in the early hours of said the animal would be able to live out the rest of his life with a herd "just doing what he wants". West Midlands Police said officers were made aware of a bull in the road and on a path near New Bond Street at about 09:30 BST on a Facebook post, Birminham City Council said it was "rapidly devising a plan to move this beautiful, albeit misplaced, animal to safety", confirming it had been checked over by its animal welfare local authority said it was trying to identify the Valentine said no one came forward to claim the animal so she negotiated with officials and "pulled every string" in order to get collected the animal from a yard on Friday night and transported him in a live stock trailer to her shelter, where he was unloaded at about 02:45 BST. The young bull has been named Liam and will now live out its natural life with the sanctuary's 750 other rescued cattle. She said: "He's settling in, but he must think, 'Where am I?'"He's a bit stressed but he's now in a barn and he's safe, with big bales of straw around him. He's eating OK."He will live out the rest of his days with us, with a herd, just doing what he wants. "We will make sure he is checked over, he will be castrated, and then we'll introduce him to a herd. "It was so brilliant to have been able to have helped. We were so worried he might be shot, so we just pulled every string to get him."She believed he was about two years old and would live to be about 20. "Every life saved is precious," she added. A video released by the sanctuary showed the bull munching hay in its new surroundings around a minute after its 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. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Birmingham's on-the-run bull rehomed in Norfolk after ‘unexpected' city break
A bull spotted trotting through city streets – after apparently escaping from an abattoir – has been given a new home by an animal sanctuary. 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.
