The Perlis Bersatu chief said he only shot the cow with a rifle after it had broken loose and gone berserk, adding that 24 other cows at the ceremony were slaughtered according to normal procedure.

“I didn’t shoot the cow for fun. It had become aggressive. If we had left it alone and it gored someone to death, who would be held responsible?

“Once it broke loose, we couldn’t do anything else. So I took the rifle and shot it in the leg. After it fell over, then we slaughtered it,” he told FMT.

A viral video showed Abu Bakar shooting the cow with a rifle, drawing criticism from netizens who questioned why the use of the firearm was necessary.

Some also questioned whether this aligned with the religious procedure for slaughtering cows for Aidiladha in Perlis.

Abu Bakar, the Kuala Perlis assemblyman, maintained that he shot the animal in the leg and not in its head. He urged netizens against spreading slander about the matter without knowing what actually transpired.

Separately, Kangar police chief Yusharifuddin Yusop said an investigation had been launched into the incident after the video went viral.

He said police were looking into the type of firearm and ammunition used, with Abu Bakar to be summoned to give a statement, Berita Harian reported.