The animal was roaming freely when it was picked up by police in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and taken to a local police station.

When the owner realised what had happened, he immediately visited the station and persuaded them to return the goat.

One of the officers reportedly asked: “People are now making their dogs wear a mask so why not a goat?”

However, they eventually withdrew the bizarre claim that the goat had broken COVID-19 regulations, the Khaleej Times reports.