Very often, a viral news story about animals is a comedy to its audience and an unmitigated tragedy to its subjects. That was the case this past weekend, as footage of bands of juvenile cows dashing through the streets of Kansas City stampeded across the internet.

The details are as follows: Last weekend, in the middle of the night, a semitruck carrying close to 120 young cattle plunged off a highway interchange in Kansas City’s downtown, spilling out dozens of animals. The truck driver and one other person sustained minor injuries. Dozens of the cows were killed, many others were seriously injured, and still others went running into the city. Some of them traveled for several miles, the city’s fire chief told the Associated Press.…