Vigil Held For Cows That Escaped From Pico Rivera Meatpacking Plant

PICO RIVERA (CBSLA) — A vigil was held Thursday night for the now notorious cows that escaped from a Pico Rivera slaughterhouse earlier this week before being rounded up in a nearby neighborhood and being sent right back.

A woman attended the event wearing a cow costume and holding a sign that read, "Cows are like big puppies." Other signs also called for the livestock to be spared.

"The rumor is they have been slaughtered," Ellen Dent, an animal rights activist, said. "But we do see cows off in the distance in a pen."

That fact gives the protesters hope that the animals will get a second chance at life, much like the last cow that was captured Thursday morning in South El Monte — five miles away from Manning Beef Company.

"I'm so glad that at least one of them is gonna be able to get to safety," Dent said.

Dent runs the Animal Alliance Network, one of several groups and celebrities that helped rescue that cow from slaughter.

"I reached out to Diane Warren who made this happen," she said.

The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter offered to save the cow from slaughter and send her instead to a local sanctuary in Acton.

"One of these animals is coming to Farm Sanctuary where they're going to live out a good life," Gene Baur, president of the Farm Sanctuary, said. "They will be given a name instead of a number, and they're gonna be our friend and not gonna be treated as food."

Baur said Farm Sanctuary provides lifelong care for animals rescued from abuse.

"This is, I believe, the seventh animal that has come to us from this particular slaughterhouse," he said.

Other animals include a mom and baby pair rescued by actor Joaquin Phoenix early last year.

As for the activists, they are asking the owner of Manning Beef Company to hand over the surviving cows.

"We want them to make amends," Dent said.

According to one of the men who came to help lasso the cows Tuesday night said the owner of the company was trampled by a cow as he tried to round them up.

"We wish him well," Dent said. "Because we did hear that he is in the hospital."

Pico Rivera City Manager Steven Carmona said the city was collecting damage estimates from residents whose mailboxes, fences and cars were damaged in the stampede. The company has only said that the incident is under investigation.