Cattle crash McDonald's drive-thru in Queensland

Hungry diners at a Queensland McDonald's got far more than they bargained for when a herd of cattle decided to join the queue, ambling through the drive-thru lane in a scene that left staff and customers stunned.

The bovine gatecrasher incident, captured on video and shared by 9 News Australia, shows the cattle moving through the drive-thru with the kind of unhurried confidence usually reserved for regulars who know exactly what they want.

It is unclear how the animals escaped their paddock or how long they spent browsing the menu, but the footage quickly attracted attention online, with viewers amused by the prospect of the herd placing an order.

Drive-thru queues are a familiar sight across regional Queensland, where fast food outlets often sit close to farming land. Even so, four-legged customers are not a common occurrence, and staff at the restaurant would have had little in the way of training for the situation.

Animal escapes from nearby properties are not unusual in rural and semi-rural parts of the state, though they more often end up blocking roads or wandering into backyards than lining up for a burger. This particular herd appeared unbothered by the unusual surroundings, taking in the sights at their own pace before presumably moving on.

The video drew a wave of jokes on social media, with commenters suggesting the cattle were after a beef patty, questioning whether they qualified for the drive-thru minimum, or simply noting that the animals looked like they knew exactly what they were doing.

Queensland authorities and the restaurant chain had not commented publicly on the incident at the time of publication. It also remained unclear whether the cattle were eventually returned to their property without incident.

The clip is the latest in a long line of videos showing Australian livestock turning up in the most unlikely of places — a reminder that in Queensland, the line between the paddock and the suburban strip can be surprisingly thin.