I have to admit that when one of our faithful listeners by the name of Tanya forwarded the link for the following CBC video in which Gatineau police officers “gun down” rogue steers, my thoughts immediately turned to the famed cartoonist Gary Larson and his depiction of bovines gone wild. You remember, the single frame image of cows driving a tractor into the farmer’s barn?
However, and perhaps reflective of the ignorance of a true city boy, this lighter view of what was a serious situation quickly gave way to an understanding of just how incendiary stories such as these can become in a relatively short time.
Within 24 hours of being posted to YouTube the video, which I have to warn you may be graphically upsetting to some, has been viewed more than 32,000 times (and counting). Update . . . the video has now been viewed more than 288,000 times in less than a week.
This raises a number of questions from both an actual incident standpoint (re was the police response appropriate, how did the cows get loose and should the farmer be held liable), as well as understanding the impact and influence of social media. Specifically, and similar to last year’s video in which a Seattle police officer is shown punching an unruly female jaywalker, does the ease at which everyday life events are catapulted into our collective consciousness through the Internet help or hinder our understanding of an event?
On the next segment of BTW! we will tackle these as well as other questions surrounding the Gatineau story head on.
In the meantime, take our BTW! Poll and weigh in with your vote as to whether the police response was appropriate?
NOTE: Remember to tune into our October 7th segment with famed criminal profile Pat Brown (Nancy Grace, Dr. Drew) discussing the Gatineau abductor case, and our October 14th segment with former CFL pros including Trevor Kennerd discussing life after pro sports.
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November 3rd, 2011 at 11:56 am
This is terrible anyone with half a brain would know not to shoot a cow like that, regardless of the circumstances.
Two things I hope do not come from this a animal rights travesty or a national Hindu revolt, the law should know better and if this traffic cop was assigned orders to shoot the cow, he should have been given a bolt like StarTrek gun to the skull into the brain, this is how they do it in abattoirs, I worked in one a few years back and perhaps assume to much of people .
This cow suffered bad and it should never happen again, I hope the police are notified of this mistake, but more importantly I hope the farmer who owns the cow is heavily compensated rather than blamed or victimised, big mistake guns and no brains.
Just a disclaimer, I am not a vegetarian, my views on animals are one of concern, I also a big fan of the farming industry and see it already going through a lot of pressure, from urban noise issues of farmers having to relocate or shut down. One of the best events that I have been to this year was a farming convention on Isle of Man and really loved it, great day out for the family.
If something like this happened or was reported, there would be a big stink and would imagine the people involved would be disciplined as such. As for comparing the two Seattle instances I am on the fench since I live over the pond, but both examples are very engaging and equally as shocking, made me think a bit, but more importantly drove me air my views here on this blog.
So, hope your poll brings about a positive change in a world where mistakes are inevitable, so folks are consciously more aware of their own foibles.
November 3rd, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Thank you for your thoughtful commentary Rob. It is clear that this has become a incendiary topic based on the fact that the video has gone viral with more than 288,000 views and counting so hopefully this will indeed lead to a better way of dealing with similar situations in the future.
November 6th, 2011 at 8:03 am
“Shot on the run” is an horrible remembrance – even more here in Germany – and it shows no, but no respect to any living being! The same way they would “Shoot on the run” also any human!