What To Do If You See Livestock On The Road

On Wednesday, December 11, an incident involving an overturned cattle trailer left I-44 shut down for seven hours. The traffic from the highway flooded the streets of Lawton, near 2nd street, for the majority of the day.

But the chaos didn't only involve redirected cars, as many of the cattle who survived the wreck escaped from the trailer and scattered in the nearby areas. Crews worked to cattle that were trapped in the trailer, wrangle the stragglers, and load them all into a new trailer.

Lawton's Assistant Fire Chief, Kyle Nyhart, told the Lawton Consistution this exact spot on I-44 had seen a similar incident more than 10 years ago involving goats. And Oklahoma routinely has incidents of loose livestock on the roads. It makes you wonder: what would you do if you spotted livestock on the road in front of you?

Always report finding loose livestock to the non-emergency line for local authorities.

Depending on where you find the animals running loose, you may want to contact your local police station and ask for animal control. If you're outside of city limits, then it's best to contact the county sheriff's department wherever you might be located. It's important to contact the non-emergency line.

If you happen upon a wreck similar to the one found on I-44, then the emergency line might be the better option, since the drivers involved might need help. It's also important to remember that Interstate travel is patrolled by Highway Police or State Troopers.

So, if you find loose animals that could cause a serious accident on the highways and interstates, then you should contact a Highway Patrol officer.

Should you try to capture the animal yourself or run it off the road?

Obviously, taking the risk of being struck on the highway is not worth trying to remove an animal on your own. Not to mention the inadverdent chaos you might accidentally cause by trying to help the situation.

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Instead, allow the professionals to come in and handle the situation. They have the ability to block the roads, limit traffic, and bring in more resources to help relocate the animal.

Ultimately, keep an eye out, keep a distance, and contact local authorities to let them do the work if you find a loose livestock animal on the road in Oklahoma.