Two men, who had led New Zealand police officers on a high-speed car chase for 90 minutes, were finally forced to pull over after losing a game of chicken with a flock of sheep.
The Honda Integra car had caught the attention of the police after it was reportedly speeding through the Central Otaga region in the country’s South Island on Friday morning. Pursuing it to Queenstown, the driver of the car led officers all across the district’s back roads in an effort to evade police.
But a flock of 150 sheep, along with the sheepdogs and farmer herding them along, completely filled the road and blocked the car’s route, forcing the driver to make an emergency stop.
While apprehending the two men, aged 19 and 23, from the vehicle, it emerged that the flock of sheep is actually owned by a local policeman.
“I started taking pictures right away but it was so hilarious, it was so funny, I couldn’t help laughing,” said Che Baker, a journalist who was at the scene for Fairfax media New Zealand.
“The farmer herding them just kept doing his job as if nothing had happened and the sheep weren’t worried by the fuss at all – they carried on normally and weren’t aware they had become duty police that morning.”
The Guardian reports that Baker said police on the scene took the men into custody in an entirely professional manner, whereas the two men from the car appeared “agitated.” The man moving the sheep also appeared unfazed, carrying on with his task and moving the sheep along.
“I don’t know if the local officer trained the sheep or not, but they sure did a good job in stopping that car,” Baker said.
