A baby cow that was once headed for slaughter is now bounding about in grassy fields, thanks to an animal sanctuary in New Jersey.

       Stacy, a nine-month-old heifer, somehow escaped a slaughterhouse in New York City earlier this month. Parks Department workers later found her wandering around a park in Queens.

       “Looks like our Urban Park Rangers were in a sentimental Moo-d today,” NYC Parks tweeted. “After discovering a loose cow in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the Rangers managed to rescue the cow through quick thinking and action.”

       After safely corralling the animal, the rangers transferred Stacy to Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue in Wantage, New Jersey. In a video Skylands posted on Monday, she could be seen galloping through a meadow with other cows.

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       “Stacy is out of quarantine and meeting some other kids,” the caption said. “She’s faster than she looks… Go get em, little girl!”

       The 230-acre sanctuary is home to 450 animals, including 93 cows. According to Skylands’ website, the animals are “rescued from slaughterhouses, live markets, farms, extreme neglect, abuse, religious ceremonies, abandonment, and are even found wandering streets” – like Stacy.

       The sanctuary’s founder and president, Mike Stura, says the young calf is settling in nicely.

       “Little Stacy looks great and has been very tolerant of the poking and prodding we’ve had to put her though,” Mr Stura told PIX11, apparently referring to her immunizations.

       In the Skylands video, Stacy looks considerably less scruffy than she did in NYC Parks’ photo. She is also a healthy weight, at about 400 pounds.

       “Meet Stacy,” Skylands wrote on Facebook not long after she was rescued. “She escaped being murdered today and now she is forever safe. We are looking forward to getting to know this sweet little girl.”

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       Skylands describes itself as an “entire farm full of rescued souls”.

       “No matter where they are from or from what dire circumstances they escape, they are provided with proper veterinary care, the best foods, water, a safe place to live, eat and sleep as well as lots of love around the clock,” the sanctuary says on its website.