Cows all off Highway 400 in King Township after causing udder chaos for hours

Seven cows that were running loose on Highway 400 in King Township are now all off the road after causing traffic delays on Friday, according to the Ontario Provincial Police.

"There's still three missing cows out in the woods someplace, but not impacting traffic at all," OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, spokesperson for the OPP's highway safety division, said in a text Friday evening.

The cows were "running up and down" the highway between Aurora Road and Highway 9, Schmidt had said in a video posted on X earlier.

Police worked with the owners to get the cows back into trailers, but he said the cows were "not too co-operative."

The cows escaped from a farm in Aurora after being spooked by a thunderstorm, Schmidt told CBC Toronto. 

At one point, the owners caught two cows, while five were still in the fields next to the highway. Officers were trying to contain them in the fields, he said. 

Animal welfare teams were also on scene, Schmidt said. 

Highway 400 was moving in both directions, but Schmidt said traffic in the area was a "disaster" when the cows were running loose alongside the highway.

"It's going to be a horrible drive for the weekend," he said Friday afternoon.