Expatriate woman driver arrested over death of eight cows on Lantau
Expatriate woman is arrested after animal hair and blood is found on her damaged SUV, parked a short distance from the crash site
An expatriate driver was arrested on suspicion of cruelty to animals after the death of eight feral cows found lying on a Lantau roadside early yesterday.
The 49-year-old British woman, identified only as Sarah, was picked up at her home in Tong Fuk after an animal-rights activist was told by police initially that no crime element was suspected. She was later released on bail without charge and must report back to police next week.
The woman's damaged Mitsubishi SUV had been found in a car park a short distance from the crash site. "The vehicle was found with damage, animal hair and blood," a police investigator said, adding that he believed the cattle were lying on the road before a vehicle ran over them.
The deaths of the cattle were reported to police at about 3.30am yesterday, after a resident found the animals lying around the Upper Cheung Sha Beach section of South Lantau Road, where the speed limit is 70 km/h.
Veterinarians from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department arrived at the scene at about 9am. Five of the animals were certified dead and two, severely injured, were put down at the scene. A two-week-old calf was taken to the society's clinic in Mui Wo, but was later put down because of a broken spine.
"We believe the cows were hit very hard," the society's public relations manager, Rebecca Ngan Yee-ling, said. "Some had been dragged along the road."
