PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A 1,500 pound cow escaped a slaughterhouse Friday and is roaming the streets of Rhode Island.

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Workers with Rhode Island Beef & Veal said the steer escaped while it was being unloaded for slaughter, WJAR reported.

It was first spotted by an Uber driver in Johnston, about 10 miles west of Providence.

“It was about 2 a.m. I was on my way to pick up a passenger, and I look to my left, and there was a cow there, just hanging out, waiting for the red light. When it turned green, the cow goes,” Tho Xaykosy said. “I thought I was seeing things at first. I must be tired, but no, that’s a cow for real.”

The bovine made it to Providence, where police called the Department of Environment Management and animal control. However, both of the agencies said they were not equipped to capture the cow. Police reached out to several farmers in the area for help catching it before it became injured or caused a danger to people, WPRI reported. Police followed it until it went into a wooded area and they lost sight of it.

The steer, which has been castrated, is still on the loose, although there have not been any sightings of it since Friday afternoon, the Providence Journal reported.

“Again, this is a 1,500-pound wild animal and the public should not approach, and please contact the appropriate jurisdiction if observed,” Johnston police chief Joseph Razza told the Journal. “I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt. People need to respect nature.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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