How and why a cow was mutilated on a Stockholm, Sask., area farm will likely remain a mystery because the carcass was discovered too late to carry out an autopsy.
The pregnant two-year-old Angus cow was discovered in a pasture earlier this month.
But by the time owners Ed and Heather Harris learned how to proceed, it was too late to find out what might have caused the gruesome scene.
The cow was missing an eye, an ear, its lips, tongue, udder, rectum and female organs.
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The cuts were clean, almost surgical, with no puncture marks or bullet holes that might suggest what or who the predator was. There was just a tiny patch of blood on the ground where the lips had been cut off.
There were no tire or foot tracks in the area to indicate someone had been there. The dogs didn’t bark.
Ed Harris said it is unsettling and he has no idea what happened.
“Just call me baffled,” he said.
His first thought was that the cow had had trouble calving. A closer look revealed the smooth cuts and missing parts.
Harris said he doesn’t know why anyone would want to do this or what else might have caused it. He’s heard the theories of cult and alien involvement.
“Take your choice,” he said. “There isn’t one good one.”
Since the incident became public, the Harrises’ phone has been ringing. Three people who have had similar events happen called to discuss particular details.
Harris said all three saw exactly the same scene he did, right down to which eye and ear were missing.
The RCMP did not investigate and the autopsy wasn’t possible because it has to be done within 24 hours.
“We were under the impression it was expensive,” Harris said.
