THE action of shooting a sacrificial cow that went viral on social media had to be done to prevent the aggressive animal from injuring those around, said Perlis Menteri Besar, Abu Bakar Hamzah.
He came forward to explain the incident to avoid misunderstandings and confusion among the public.
He said that the shot was only fired at the cow's leg, which had come loose before the slaughter was carried out as usual.
"We did a sacrificial programme involving 25 cows. Only one of them broke its leash, ran away and became aggressive, so we had to act (shoot) to avoid any harm or danger to the public.
"The cow we shot didn't die; the shot hit the leg, and then we carried out the slaughtering process as usual. I have slaughtered 24 cows; we only shot this one in the leg before slaughtering," he said.
The Kuala Perlis State Assemblyman (ADUN) said that the swift action was taken as a precautionary measure to avoid unwanted incidents, considering that there have been cases of rampages of sacrificial animals that have claimed lives in other states.
"I shot to avoid unwanted incidents like what happened in several other locations across the country, including cases where people were killed after they were attacked by the animals," he said.
Previously, incidents of sacrificial animals running away during the slaughtering process were widely reported, including the incident in Ulu Tiram, Johor, yesterday, which resulted in one man being killed and another seriously injured in two separate incidents involving escaped buffaloes.
In the incident, the first victim died from being gored in the thigh, while the second victim suffered a broken rib.
Meanwhile, the police confirmed that they had not received a report regarding the viral video showing Abu Bakar allegedly shooting the sacrificial cow with a shotgun, but initial investigations are ongoing.
Kangar District Police Chief, Assistant Commissioner Yusharifuddin Mohd Yusop, reportedly said that the police had taken note of the video recording that had gone viral on social media since yesterday. – May 29, 2026
See the viral video here https://www.facebook.com/reel/1040163725004627
