Four cows are on the loose in Weare and police are asking the public to call if any are seen on the roads.

The cows went missing Sunday afternoon about two hours after being delivered to a farm on Cram Road.

“They were put in a pen, and a couple hours later (the farmers) noticed they broke through the panels,” said Weare Animal Control Officer Jesse Nelson.

Three of the cows were found Tuesday morning near another farm, looking over the fence at a herd of cows grazing. A person at the farm, who Nelson said was probably trying to be helpful, got too close and “spooked” the cows back into the woods.

As of Wednesday evening, police had not received any other calls of the cows being spotted.

Police are asking the public to use caution driving in the area of Cram Road, Poor Farm Road and Peacock Hill Road. Nelson urged the public to not approach or engage with the cows if they are spotted so they don’t run away again.

“Do not try to catch them,” she said. “If they are spotted, call (the police) right away.”

She expects the cows are wandering in the woods and is not concerned with their safety.

“They have everything to sustain themselves,” Nelson said. “Normally what they do when they are skittish is hide during the day and come out at night.”

The police are not actively searching the woods for the cows, which Nelson said would probably be a fruitless effort.

“If you start trudging through the woods, it’s like having a deer. They’re going to outsmart you,” she said. “The less people we have trying to find them, the more likely they will come out.”

All four are beef cows – three black angus and one red angus. If the cows are found, Nelson said a feeding station will be set up with a temporary fence to keep them in one area for a couple of days before moving them. A more dire option, if necessary, would be to tranquilize the cows.

“We don’t know how bad it will be, but that is the worst case scenario,” Nelson said, adding, “the police won’t shoot the cows.”

Anyone with information about the cows is asked to call Weare Animal Control at 493-7834.

(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3314.)