Dozens of sheep and goats were on the loose Wednesday night in Hackettstown after they escaped from a livestock auction.

Officials say that more than 75 animals escaped The Livestock Cooperative on Singer Street after an unsecured gate got pushed open.

Most of the barn animals were herded back with the help of police and some good Samaritans, but officials say there were probably about 15 animals still loose. 

Police say they probably won’t pursue them unless they get calls from the public.

This is the same auction house where a goat nicknamed Fred escaped a year ago.

"People have this conspiracy theory that Fred…might have been behind this, because we did have a report of the goat being there prior to this happening,” says Hackettstown police Sgt. Darren Tynan.

Tynan says that coincidentally, the animals escaped exactly one year after Fred fled.