Skip to content

VIDEO: Wayward cows milk sudden freedom on B.C. lawns and doorsteps

Dead of night visitors cause no real beef in quiet Parksville neighbourhood

It was an a-moo-sing Monday morning in the small Vancouver Island community of San Pareil.

During the night, approximately 12 cattle escaped from a farmer’s corral and milked their newfound freedom by taking a stroll around their neighbourhood near Parksville.

One resident, Jeet Mann, was able to capture footage from his doorbell camera of one such beefy visitor, just before 2 a.m. on Monday.

Kate Jennings, another resident of the neighbourhood, confirmed the cattle were eventually rounded up with the help of police, by 8:30 a.m.

She said she wasn’t aware of the great escape until after checking the neighbourhood’s community Facebook group and seeing pictures of cattle on her own lawn.

READ MORE: PHOTOS: Wayward buffalo pays visit to B.C. schoolyard

“They were all very quiet. They were right on our lawn and we didn’t even hear them. I just thought it was so funny. No one was really worried about them because they were so tame,” she said.

Jennings said the cattle did not damage her property, but she anticipates collecting cow patties from her lawn in the near future.

She believes the cattle are new to the area, since she hasn’t noticed them in the five years she’s lived there.

Cpl. Jesse Foreman of the Oceanside RCMP confirmed to PQB News that several cows and at least one bull escaped through a gate from their owner’s property. An officer attended and assisted with wrangling the cattle back to their property.

For more news from Vancouver Island and beyond delivered daily into your inbox, please click here.

mandy.moraes@pqbnews.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter 

24683726_web1_210331-PQN-Cattle-On-The-Loose-COWSONTHELOOSE_2
Residents in the San Pareil community woke up Monday morning (March 29) to find an escaped herd of cattle roaming the streets from a nearby farm. (Kate Jennings photo)
24683726_web1_210331-PQN-Cattle-On-The-Loose-COWSONTHELOOSE_3
Residents in the San Pareil community woke up Monday morning (March 29) to find an escaped herd of cattle roaming the streets from a nearby farm. (Kate Jennings photo)


Mandy Moraes

About the Author: Mandy Moraes

I joined Black Press Media in 2020 as a multimedia reporter for the Parksville Qualicum Beach News, and transferred to the News Bulletin in 2022
Read more