Officials have pardoned the sheep that made a break for freedom Tuesday along E. 8 Mile Road.
The Michigan Humane Society took possession of the female sheep Wednesday afternoon at its Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care, said Ryan McTigue, spokesman for the organization. By Friday the sheep will be placed at SASHA Farm, a non-profit sanctuary for animals in Manchester, Candice Williams reports in the Detroit News.
McGraw: The Detroit Sheep That Escaped Slaughter Deserves Its Freedom
The sheep bolted into Nortown Collision on Van Dyke Tuesday afternoon, startling workers, who held the animal until police arrived. The sheep appeared tagged and ready for slaughter.
In 2003, a steer, left, attracted national publicity when it dashed from a line of steers heading into an Eastern Market slaughterhouse and ran for miles through East Side streets, past waving school children and honking motorists. Police subdued the steer with a tranquilizer dart, and it eventually was placed at the SASHA farm, where it remains today. It is named Jefferson, after one of the streets it visited during its run for freedom.
On Wednesday, PETA -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- sent a letter to Detroit Police James Craig, pleading for the sheep to be spared:
"On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including thousands across Michigan, I am writing to urge you send the sheep who may have escaped from a slaughter-bound truck—and who was later captured in an auto repair shop and then turned over to police yesterday—to a sanctuary for farmed animals."
