High steaks: Steer shot after walking through heavy traffic near Auckland motorway

A roaming steer which charged a member of the public and made its way onto State Highway 18 earlier this afternoon had to be put down by police.

The road was temporarily closed as officers handled the situation by shooting the large animal which was previously injured and had become aggravated.

In a statement, police said they received a report about a steer making a nuisance of itself on Brigham Creek Rd around 6.35pm.

The steer was "impeding traffic and creating a safety risk" before finding itself on SH18 where the situation escalated.

The steer walked through heavy traffic near State Highway 18. Photo / Daniel Morris

"The steer then made its way onto State Highway 18, creating an even greater safety risk, so had to be put down by officers at the scene," police said.

Footage of the roaming steer was posted to Facebook and one commenter revealed the steer was shot around a half dozen times before it went down.

"I saw one of the cops shoot at it four or five times and it just kept charging towards him and down the off-ramp onto the wrong side of the motorway," they said.

The steer was loaded onto the back of a panel beater truck after its death before it was taken away.