Police have shot dead a cow that roamed the streets of Toowoomba this morning.

According to Detective Sergeant Brendan Murphy of the Stock and Rural Crime and Investigation Squad, the 450-kilogram Brahman-Cross "escaped" the city's saleyards and was seen in an agitated state in Queens Park early on Tuesday morning.

"In Toowoomba we have two saleyards that are centrally located in town. Certainly not on the outskirts. A lot of these cattle are coming from out west and some can be quite 'stirry'."

"When I was initially called it was at Queens Park. By the time I got there it had gotten to Brook Street near the railway line, which is quite a distance. I'd say it had more of a trot than a walk."

Detective Sergeant Murphy says there were no reports of damage or injury during the course of the cow's tour.

"The welfare of the public was the concern. A beast of that size could do quite some damage. There was also the concern that some people might think they could 'shoo' it away or try and corner it in a yard. Some of these Brahman cattle don't have the side step of a good rugby player, they'll go straight over the top of you!"

Detective Sergeant Murphy says there was little option but to kill the cow.

"That cow was in no mood to be 'shoo'd'!"

"If it went on too long, obviously with the traffic increasing as the morning got on, it was becoming a real safety concern. So eventually the decision was made to have the beast destroyed.

"It was in such a way there wasn't too much that was going to stop it."

The sight of cattle moving through Toowoomba isn't uncommon, but usually on the back of a truck, not trotting through the streets.

"It's fairly 'droughted' out west," Detective Sergeant Murphy says, "and there are a lot of cattle getting moved through Toowoomba and down the range."