A 450-kilogram cow being prepared for slaughter jumped a 1.8-metre fence and bolted through the streets of Pocatello, Idaho, before police shot and killed it following a lengthy pursuit.

Pocatello police Chief Scott Marchand said his officers fired two shots at the heifer because it posed a safety risk. The cow had escaped from a meat processing business on Friday afternoon.

Early in the chase, an officer shot the cow in the head but the wounded animal kept running.

Police and animal control officers on foot and in vehicles chased the cow through the city's north side. It rammed an animal control truck and two police cars.

The animal was eventually cornered in a residential backyard about five kilometres away, where it was shot and killed by a police officer