Source: Eric Berting via Twitter

A COW IN the city of Cincinnati, Ohio enjoyed a brief moment of freedom yesterday, before meeting a tragic and ironic fate.

The animal escaped a slaughterhouse owned by the Tri-State Beef Company at around 11am, according to local news website Cincinnati.com.

Local TV station WCPO reports the cow managed to run for just over a mile, with a slaughterhouse worker in hot pursuit.

Confused, it trotted off, crossing a viaduct in the city, where its progress was captured by a local motorist:

A police spokesperson said the cow appeared “nervous”, and the desperate bid for freedom came to a sad end in the Queen City neighbourhood.

The slaughterhouse worker eventually caught up with the animal, and shot it twice with a rifle, killing it.

The location? Next to a McDonald’s, of all places.