The search for a runaway goat has entered its fifth day after the animal somehow managed to break free from the University of Iowa's research facility.
The white and brown male bolted from a portable carrier while being moved at the university's Research Park in Coralville, Iowa on Friday morning, leading to a number of sightings but so far no capture, university officials said in a release.
One claimed sighting was captured in a photo posted to Twitter Wednesday, showing the animal frantically hoofing it down a sidewalk. University officials say that most of the sightings have been in residential areas, on front porches or patio areas.
While the university says the animal is in "excellent health and poses no public health risk," PETA isn't having any of it.
The animal rights group got into the mix on Tuesday, sending a letter to the school and the U.S. Department of Agriculture asking that the animal be taken to an accredited sanctuary once captured, KCRG reported. They also want the university to pay for this move.
"We urge the University of Iowa to do the right thing by retiring this goat, with his clear desire for freedom, to an accredited sanctuary and to fund his care," Alka Chandna, a senior laboratory oversight specialist with the group, wrote to university president Bruce Harreld.
With this request, PETA accuses the school of violating the Animal Welfare Act, specifically failing to provide qualified personnel and a secure, primary enclosure.
Chandna also expressed concern that the animal has been exposed to the area's freezing temperatures while "alone, frightened, and confused; and very likely, hungry and thirsty,” according to the Press-Citizen.
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