Beloved South Jersey cow is euthanized – owner getting death threats

The owner of a beloved cow that had been wandering in Cape May County for months says he had the animal euthanized for public safety, and now he is getting death threats.

Due to the nature of the alleged threats, New Jersey 101.5 is not identifying the owner by name.

The brown cow named Mootilda by the locals escaped from the owners property in Upper Township early last summer. She managed to evade multiple recapture attempts.

At one point, she even had her own Facebook page that chronicled her adventures and where locals would post photos of her visits to their backyards.

The fun was dampened, however, when Mootilda wandered into the road and caused a traffic accident. After the accident, she again evaded capture.

It was then, the owner claims in an interview with NJ.com, "multiple authorities" implied he should have the animal put down. "That's what we ended up doing," the owner claims.

There are, however, many questions that remain and the owner has not been clear on several points. He did not say how Mootilda was captured, when she was euthanized, or specifically who suggested he should have the animal killed. There are also discrepancies about when he contacted Shore Animal Control to ask for help.

Regardless, he says he believes he did the right thing to avoid another accident and anyone else getting hurt.

Mootilda's Facebook page has now been changed from "Mootilda's Fun Page," to "Justice for Mootilda."

The first post on the new page condemns people making threats.

"While I disagree with what occurred and his choices," page owner Anne Copeland Merrill writes, "I do not condone any threats to this individual. I’m sad and angry too but, it’s not going to bring Moo back."

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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