Roundup time in Upper Darby

Only the flies are free to come and go at a stinky warehouse in Upper Darby that advertises fresh meat.

The yellow street sign outside the Madina Live Poultry Co., on Fourth Street just off Baltimore Pike, says fresh lamb, goats and chickens are right inside, past the barbed-wire fence.

"00% Halal fresh," reads the sign, which has lost a "1."

The manure-like smell invades your nostrils the closer you get. Inside, a turkey sits on the floor in a cage, along with smaller birds on a shelf. Goats and what looks like several cows are in a pen in the corner.

No wonder a pale cow - destined for slaughter - made a run for freedom Saturday night, off into the streets of Delaware County in search of a patch of green or refuge at a nearby animal hospital. It rammed a Yeadon police cruiser before being caught and taken back.

"The cow is still alive," said an employee wearing rubber boots and a wet rubber glove yesterday.

But Madina's no petting zoo, as evidenced by the large hooks and chains dangling from the ceiling.

"We don't want to talk about it anymore," the man said before asking a reporter to leave.

Beth Monahan, of Mount Airy, who volunteers at Farm Sanctuary of New York, believes the cow earned the right to live after its escape.

"If it's running for its life, it deserves a break," Monahan said. "Time is of the essence. Someone needs to negotiate with the butcher shop to not kill this cow."

Police said that after the cow bolted, it took off down Emerson Avenue toward Long Lane. It freaked out when the cops showed up.

"Lacking any type of lasso or rope, officers attempted to corral the animal between the vehicles," the police report read.

The cow rammed the Yeadon cruiser, damaging a quarter panel before being rounded up by an employee and brought back to Madina.

"Talk about fresh meat," Yeadon Detective Sgt. David Splain said. "The thing was running up and down the street!"

At Dan's Corner Tavern, just a few feet away from Madina's, manager Charles McLain, 74, said he has to close the windows sometimes when the breeze shifts and the odor pays a visit. Animals, mostly goats, have escaped in the past, too, he said, and the whole bar has emptied into the street to round them up.

"We all formed a line across the street to try to block them and drive them back," McClain said.

No one answered the door at the Baltimore Pike Animal Hospital, but two guys drinking tallboys out of paper bags in a nearby alley said they helped corral rogue goats recently.

A man behind a glass wall at a noisy recycling center nearby mentioned goats on the loose too.

Upper Darby officials said that Madina is permitted to have the live animals on the premises. They said that a February inspection showed some minor problems, including a hole in the wall, a hot-water problem, and an untidy pen. Matt Verdi, assistant director of the Upper Darby Health Department, said those issues were later resolved.