Cattle rustling isn’t a new notion, but it was recently taken to a new level in British Columbia’s North Okanagan region.
Six animals have been found dead in the region since July with choice cuts of meat removed.
Jeremy Wasylyszn, a rancher from Vernon, B.C., was moving his cattle home from their summer grazing grounds on a government forestry range near Cherryville, B.C., Oct. 20 when he made a grisly discovery.
Wasylyszn had left one of his cows and its calf on their own for about two and a half hours. When he came back he found both the cow and calf had been shot dead and the animals’ tenderloins had been removed.
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“I don’t imagine it was your average hunter that did this,” Wasylyszn said. “I think they had full intentions of taking the hind quarters or maybe the whole cow.”
Staff at the Coldstream Ranch near Vernon, B.C., made similar discoveries this summer.
The RCMP have not said if the two incidents are related.
Coldstream Ranch first discovered one of its cows dead with part of the meat cut from it in July. Three other cows were killed over the course of the summer. The last one was found in September.
Manager Brad McKim said it’s surprising to have so many cattle killed in such a short time.
“It’s happened in the past, it’s not the first time, but I think the fact that it’s kind of happened in a short period of time, it’s been alarming,” he said.
Wasylyszn and Coldstream have offered rewards for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Coldstream Ranch is offering $1,000 and Wasylyszn is offering $10,000.
