An area ranching family has been left without answers after they made a gruesome discovery in their field on June 6.
“It was a disturbing weekend,” said Keren Farquharson, who said her brother Don discovered one of the family’s cows dead in pasture, with an eye, udder and sex organs “surgically” removed.
“There was no blood, no tears, no evidence of anybody being around her,” Farquharson said. “How they got in and got out is totally a mystery. Who are they? What are they? Is it a satanic thing? Is it an initiation?”
Cow mutilations have been reported in the past in Alberta, according to Sundre RCMP Constable Val Dennis.
“It’s unusual, but this happens. There’s been several cases of it across Alberta and around the world,” he said. “There have been experts out there that have different theories in every different direction there is.”
Dennis was called to investigate the mutilation at the family’s Madden-area ranch after Don discovered the carcass.
“I (didn’t see) the animal for at least 24 hours after they had found it, so I really can’t know exactly what it died from,” Dennis said. “I can’t really say one way or another.
“I haven’t got a clue (what caused it). They’ve been investigating this type of stuff for quite a few years now and they’ve never come to a conclusion on any of them,” he added. “They have theories. You can look them up on the internet.”
Those theories range from the paranormal to the mundane, ranging from alien invaders and cult initiations to the simple ingestion of natural plants that cause bloating.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States was asked to investigate the phenomena in the mid-1970s, but the investigation was never completed.
“You know, out in the country, it’s kinda hard to sneak around out there. People’s ranch dogs tend to be fairly alert if strangers come on to the property,” said Christopher O’Brien, author of Stalking The Herd: Unraveling The Cattle Mutilation Mystery. “The ranching community realizes there’s nothing to gain for reporting these cases. They realize that if they report it, nothing will come of it except for a lot of unwanted publicity.
“I think we’re seeing the tip of the iceberg with these kind of cases.”
According to Farquharson, the cow was discovered lying on her side as if asleep. She said no blood or hair was found at the scene and the site showed no trace of entry by intruders.
“There was no wildlife, no birds around her. Normally with roadkill, hawks and birds are there right away,” she said. “So the police thought, well, she got into some poisonous weeds and it killed her and in the hot sun she bloated and blew up. But there’s no evidence. It did not happen. It’s a surgical cut.”
Dennis said he had consulted with another investigator, who said it was a “natural phenomena.”
“I’m not gonna solve this. I’d say, keep your eyes open if you see anything unusual, odd, make a note of it. Make a note of a license plate number, take a picture with your phone,” he said. “We have no leads at all to go on any direction on this.”
O’Brien, who said he has investigated over 200 cases of mutilated cows, has his own theories about what could be behind the cases, but noted he still has not found any “definitive proof.”
“It’s very puzzling. It’s my least favourite thing to do in life, is investigate dead rotting cows,” he said. “These (ranchers) need somebody to at least advise them and at least give them some sort of information.”
In the meantime, Farquharson said the family now has to “bite the loss” of a $3,500 animal and an orphaned calf.
“We just don’t know how to protect ourselves and we feel violated,” she said. “The police are saying, ‘no proven case. You gotta prove she was drugged.’ And we can’t.
“(We want) farmers to do their due diligence in reporting. As soon as there are enough of these cases reported that there are mysterious cow or bull mutilations, then there are statistics to say, hey, this is a crime.”
