Horned cow brings Algeciras motorway to a crawl as it stops to graze in the rain

Drivers heading into Algeciras on Monday morning had more than Storm Bruna’s downpours to deal with, as a large horned cow wandered along the hard shoulder before crossing to the central reservation for a graze. Nobody knows yet which farm it slipped away from. 

A horned surprise on the Monday commute

Drivers making their way towards Algeciras on Monday November 9 found themselves sharing the motorway with a rather unexpected traveller, as a large retinta cow, a hardy and reddish-brown breed native to southwest Spain, strolled along the hard shoulder in the pouring rain. 

The animal turned up at around 9am, just before the turn-off for Los Barrios, with an impressive set of horns and the identification tags farmers clip to their cattle’s ears still firmly in place.

It didn’t stay put on the hard shoulder either. Footage of the moment shows the cow ambling over to the central reservation to tuck into the grass, freshly soaked by the rain Storm Bruna brought to the Campo de Gibraltar that day.

No crashes, but plenty of brake lights

Thankfully nobody was hurt and there were no collisions, though the cow’s roadside snack was enough to slow traffic and cause tailbacks heading into the city. Drivers passing at that hour found a sizeable animal standing right at the edge of the carriageway, on a wet road where stopping distances are already longer than usual.

It’s still not known which farm the cow escaped from or how it managed to reach that stretch of motorway, with the video of its wander quickly doing the rounds across local news channels. 

Not the first runaway on Cádiz roads this autumn

It’s the second time in just over a month that livestock has caused chaos on the province’s roads. On Thursday October 1, a bull that had apparently jumped a fence on a nearby estate charged at a car on the A-390 between Chiclana and Medina Sidonia, sending drivers reversing and turning round to get out of its way. 

Much of the countryside around the Campo de Gibraltar is grazing land, so a broken fence or a gate left open can quickly put an animal in the path of fast-moving traffic.

Who’s responsible when livestock gets loose

Under Spain’s Civil Code, the person who keeps an animal is responsible for any damage it causes, even if it escapes or wanders off. The only exceptions are force majeure or the fault of the person who suffered the damage.

That’s where those ear tags come in, as they link every head of cattle to its registered farm. So if a runaway cow is involved in a crash, there’s a clear trail back to whoever is responsible for it.

What to do if you meet an animal on the road

Guardia Civil advice for drivers is to stay calm and avoid swerving or slamming on the brakes, as a sudden move can send a car off the road and end up being more dangerous than the animal itself.

If a collision can’t be avoided, officers advise gripping the wheel firmly and holding your line. Then, if the car can still move, get it completely off the carriageway, and if it can’t, switch on your V16 emergency beacon and get yourself out of harm’s way. If it’s a big enough animal, perhaps stay put in your vehicle until it moves on as well. 

Only try to move an animal if it’s completely safe to do so. So if a cow, horse or goat appears beside the traffic on your next journey, call the Guardia Civil on 062 or 112 and give them the road name and kilometre marker so officers can get it cleared quickly.