The Day the Bulls Were Saved

by M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories​
In July, 1988  a Riverdale patrolman stopped a van on Route 23 southbound after he notice it listing. Suddenly the head of a bull popped out of a broken window on the driver's side.

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Three men were transporting two 1,000 pound bulls in the back of a van c.1988

Patrolman Robert Rosendale ordered three men out of the vehicle,  which appeared to have a large load in the back. They told him the castrated bulls were to be sacrificed in an Islamic ritual slated for the next day in Long Island City. They had purchased them in Warwick , N.Y.

New Jersey law dictated that animals could only be slaughtered in a certified slaughterhouse. The patrolman said, "The manner in which they were being transported was inhumane."

A state animal warden which was called to the scene said: "When we got there, we found two full grown bulls that weighed well over 1,000 pounds stuffed into this van and almost dead. I don't know how they did it — they just stuffed them into the van. One was facing the back and his blood circulation to the legs was completely stopped because he couldn't stand up. The second one was hanging himself on the post of the window by the noose that was around his neck." He observed that if they would have delayed 5 to 10 minute more both animal would have been dead.

The second bull's leg and tail had been closed in the door and were bleeding.

It took some time to extract them from the van since they were packed in so tightly.

A neighbor who saw the event came out with pails of water to try to revive the bulls, since they were severely dehydrated. They were transported  to an ASPCA holding facility.

Feizul (Faizul) Khan, 28, Lazim (Nazim) Raghubil (Roghubir), 28, both of Brooklyn and Ally Nezeer, 44, of Queens were charged with animal abuse crimes. A month later they all pled guilty to the charges, and faced up to 6 months in jail and $250 in fines.

About 25 animal right activists had attended the hearing. They were trying to get custody of the bulls and take them to Popcorn Zoo in Lacey Township.

The question begs to be asked: is there any ritual that should be allowed to torture and kill animals?

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