A small Quebec town is resorting to cowboy tactics to round up a herd of runaway cattle that have evaded capture for months and have been wreaking havoc in farmers’ fields.
The mayor of St-Sévère, in Quebec’s Mauricie region, says the 20 or so young animals jumped out of their field at the end of July and have been on the lam ever since.
Jean-Yves St-Arnaud estimates the animals have caused between $20,000 and $25,000 of damage by flattening crops and chewing up ears of corn in farmers’ fields.
St-Arnaud says residents and officials have tried everything to catch them, including enlisting the cowboys of nearby St-Tite—a town known for its annual western festival.
He says the eight cowboys almost succeeded in corralling the herd at the end of October, but the animals evaded capture at the last minute and fled.
St-Arnaud says the animals are currently somewhere in the woods, but he’s not sure exactly where, adding that he hopes cold weather and hunger will encourage them to return home.
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