Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
ROCK LAKE – A local rancher is perplexed by the castration and slaughter of one of his bulls on or about May 12.
State Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Staci Lehman said the carcass was initially reported as a slain moose. But after a game warden went to the scene the next morning, the remains were identified as a bull.
Rancher Rod Mills, the owner of R&J Ranch and Livestock, was then notified one of his bulls had been slaughtered in an unusual fashion that day, according to Whitman County Sheriff’s Office reports.
The next day, Mills went out to inspect the carcass himself, finding that the bull had been shot and castrated.
The Spokane County Cattlemen’s Association is offering a $1,000 reward for information on the bull’s killing.
Rancher Jim Wentland said bulls can range in cost from $5,000-$50,000, with a slain bull representing a significant financial and reproductive loss to any livestock operation.
“There should be around 20-25 cows per bull,” Wentland said. “Hopefully, he (Mills) has enough that can cover the bull he lost.”
This is not the first time such an event occurred in the area.
“I’ve heard stories of some of the incidents down in that area before about a female cow flipped upside down in a chute with its reproductive organs cut out,” Wentland said. “We can only hope that it’s over now.”
And it’s not the only report of cattle mutilations around the U.S. in recent months. Six cows in three different counties were slaughtered in Texas.
A $5,000 reward is offered for information in those mutilations.
No UFO link
Speculation in Whitman County has circulated about an Unidentified Flying Object connection to the local cow mutilation.
Ufologist James Clarkson of Port Townsend debunked the idea as it is “not classically what you would call a ‘cattle mutilation.’”
Clarkson said classic cow mutilations that he has seen in his lifetime of research include the unexplained and sudden death of livestock which often follow after reports of numerous lights or flying objects have been seen in the sky.
“The scenes are always relatively bloodless,” he said. “There are always parts on the body where there are precise incisions.”
Reid Thompson is an intern reporter at the Whitman County Gazette. Reid is enrolled at Syracuse University, where he studies journalism and international relations.
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