Bull Shot And Killed By Animal Services

A long-horned bull was today shot to death in Lake Elsinore. Riverside County Animal Services shot and killed the bull in an unincorporated area near Lake Elsinore on the corner of Eighth Street and Conard Avenue.

A California Highway Patrol officer, whose name was not released, called county Animal Services and reported a bull was loose at around 1 a.m., Animal Services Public Information Chief John Welsh said.

By the time Animal Services arrived, it appeared the CHP officer had corralled the bull into a large, gated yard, he said. Animal Services officers left the bull in the yard, unsure in the middle of the night if was in the right place, Welsh said. But the yard's owners called Animal Services at about 8:30 a.m. and asked them to remove the bull, believed to be a Watusi, from their property.

Lt. Chris Mayer and another officer were dispatched to move the bull, armed with a tranquilizer and a 12-gauge shotgun, in case of emergency. The officers tried to subdue the bull with their tranquilizer before it charged them without warning. Mayer shot and killed the bull, Welsh said.

The Animal Service's director felt Mayer reacted appropriately.

"We're there to help the animal, but the officer must ensure his own safety, too,'' Animal Services director Robert Miller said. Officers transported the bull's body to the Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter in Riverside. Animal Services was still trying to identify the bull's owner. --City News Service