When he was charged by a panicked renegade goat, an Oamaru police officer considered his options, assessed his need to protect life and property — and reached for his Taser.
Senior Constable Carl Pedersen tasered the animal yesterday after it had led police officers and animal control workers on a wild goat chase in downtown Oamaru in the morning. The police fielded several calls about a goat on State Highway 1 near the intersections of Nen St and Exe St that was endangering traffic.
Sergeant Tony Woodbridge, of Oamaru, said police and animal control lost sight of the goat as it ran through properties, jumping fences and avoiding capture. Later that morning, police received a call from an Oamaru woman who reported a large goat was bailed up in her garage by her dog.
Snr Const Pedersen confronted the goat that had already caused damage to the woman’s property including her mobility scooter.
He was charged as he tried to get between the goat and the dog.
He admitted his decision to use his Taser might have been considered "a bit drastic", but given the circumstances he felt it was the best decision for all concerned.
"I considered myself at risk. It needed to be controlled ... It wasn’t in the mood to be subdued."
He said animal control made the decision to put the animal down, but not because of injuries caused by the tasering.
No-one had claimed ownership of the animal.
A photo of the goat on railway tracks on the outskirts of Oamaru appeared on social media earlier this week. Const Pedersen said the multi-brown coloured goat lacked any identification tags that would suggest it could have been a pet.
