CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Chinese water buffalo that got loose in an east Charlotte community and became ‘increasingly agitated’ was euthanized over the weekend, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said on Monday.
Officers responded to calls regarding three missing Chinese buffalo running loose by Leesburg Road and Hollyhouse Drive on Saturday in east Charlotte.
The owner was on scene with a livestock trailer and while CMPD and animal control were able to capture two of them, the other became spooked, according to the police report, and for three hours officers were unsuccessful in containing the third.
The call continued through the night Saturday where the buffalo was ultimately contained around 6:30 a.m. at the athletics field at Albemarle Elementary School. Becoming increasingly agitated, CMPD said they had no other choice than to euthanize the 1,500-pound female animal.
The owner, who was in agreement with the euthanization, was issued a citation. Water buffalo are illegal to own in North Carolina.
