Vegans Plan Vigil For 'Hero' Bull Who Died In NYPD Custody

JAMAICA, QUEENS — The unflappable black bull who escaped the confines of his Jamaica slaughterhouse Tuesday morning — then led the NYPD on a wild, hours-long and ultimately fatal police chase through the streets and backyards of Queens — will not have died in vain, if the city's equally unflappable vegan contingent has anything to do with it.

A few dozen activists from various NYC vegan groups are planning a vigil Wednesday night for the bull, whom they've voted to name Ilham (Arabic for "inspiration") in a poll on the Facebook event page.

"Today, a courageous bull escaped hell," vigil organizers said on the event page. "He ran for his life. This brave boy's life and bravery deserve to be honored."

Here's some raw helicopter footage of the cops chasing Ilham around Jamaica on Tuesday:

The bull's vigil will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday night outside the Aziz slaughterhouse, that same bloody cow hell on Beaver Road from whence he escaped Tuesday morning. By making a racket outside the slaughterhouse and honoring Ilham with candles and posters, activists said they would show both butchers and neighbors that the bull's life "mattered" — and that, in essence, he died to shed light on the struggle of his brethren still trapped behind the fence, awaiting the cleaver.

"He did not die in vain, but as a hero fighting for freedom," organizers said.

City officials have yet to release a cause of death for Ilham.

The bull died around 12:50 p.m. Tuesday, police said — mere minutes after being transported by the NYPD from someone's backyard in Jamaica, where the animal collapsed after a two-hour police chase, to the city's Animal Care Center on Linden Boulevard in East New York.

"We can't give any information" on what happened to the bull, a representative for Animal Care Centers of NYC told Patch in the immediate aftermath of his death.

Animal Care Centers of NYC did not respond to follow-up requests for comment.

The NYPD, meanwhile, would say only: "The animal was darted six times."

A hat tip to Gothamist. Lead photo via Vladimir Vilsaint/Twitter