A cow that was captured by the police after escaping a New York City slaughterhouse has been taken in by an animal sanctuary and named for the rock legend Freddie Mercury.

Videos posted on the Internet showed the brown-and-white cow trotting past shops and restaurants on Thursday afternoon.

Image Officers corralled a cow that had escaped a slaughterhouse in Jamaica, Queens, on Thursday. Credit... New York Police Department 103rd Precinct

The founder of the Skylands Animal Sanctuary & Rescue in Wantage, N.J., Mike Stura, picked up the cow on Friday morning in New York and said he named the creature after the lead singer of the band Queen.