Bound for the butcher: The rhea is to be turned into gourmet sausages (Picture: Mercury Press)

A giant – and ‘dangerous’ – runaway bird on the loose in the English countryside has been shot dead and is bound for the butcher, ‘to be turned into gourmet sausages’.

The South American rhea had been on the run in Hertfordshire for more than a month until it met its end last week.

The six-foot flightless bird, similar to an ostrich, could reportedly run at speeds of 40mph and was capable of using its six-inch claws to disembowel humans.

The female rhea, affectionately nicknamed Chris by golfers who spotted it roaming their course, fled its enclosure after being spooked by a hunt.




It had been spotted on a number of occasions in and around the Barkway Park Golf Club near Royston in Hertfordshire.

Both police and the RSPCA had urged the public not to approach the potentially aggressive bird, with animal experts warning it could ‘go for your eyes with its beak’.

However, it was killed by gamekeeper Stuart Howe last Monday after it wandered into a rape seed oil field.

The 65-year-old deer manager claimed he shot the bird because police were concerned it would wander into the road and cause a car crash.

According to the Telegraph, Mr Howe said the animal didn’t suffer as it was killed instantly with a single shot to the head.

However, he claimed the bird’s meat would be used to make gourmet sausages.

He said: ‘I suppose some people might say it is a shame the rhea is dead but it would be terrible if it caused someone to die in a car crash. I saw the rhea near the roadside at one point and it would easily have caused a car to swerve and hit a tree.’

Insp Paul David of Hertfordshire police told the Telegraph: ‘I am amazed it survived this long to be honest. It would have been a real problem if it had wandered into the road and posed a traffic hazard. We will have to notify the owner that the bird has been killed.’