(#5) The Unsolved Murders...Of Cattle
From 17th century England to the present in Oregon, cattle are being randomly mutilated...and we have no idea why it's happening.
A common sight for all, no matter where one lives, is roadkill. Dead rabbits, skunks, crows, and even the occasional coyote are among the carcasses I come across where I live. When it’s not motorists doing the killing, it’s other animals. At times, I’ll walk outside in the morning and come across the leftovers of a successful rabbit hunt. Thank you, coyotes, for keeping the population of primary consumers in check so as to prevent food chain destabilization in our ecosystem.
Seeing dead animals usually doesn’t elicit much speculation on our part. And why would it? It’s almost always the result of predation, automobiles, or sickness. It’s a rather pedestrian sight that may elicit a flash of pity that goes as quickly as it comes, but it is almost never something that leaves us dumbfounded.
Almost.
That is, of course, unless you’re one of countless ranchers who have come across the carcasses of cattle that have been killed in the most bizarre and inexplicable ways. Ways that include dead cattle being found with their blood drained, skin removed, sexual organs missing, and lymph nodes taken out with surgical precision.
In today’s newsletter, I explore the phenomenon of mysterious cattle mutilations in North America. What exactly are cattle mutilations? What (or who) causes them? Will I finally fold and admit that it’s aliens? Let’s find out.
A Long Time Ago, in A [Country] Far, Far Away
Unresolved cattle (or livestock in general) mutilations have likely been occurring throughout human history since the Agricultural Revolution. However, one of the earliest accounts of this phenomenon dates back to early 17th century England, when Londoners woke up to a confusing sight:
"...about the city of London and some of the shires adjoining. Whole slaughters of sheep have been made, in some places to number 100, in others less, where nothing is taken from the sheep but their tallow and some inward parts, the whole carcasses, and fleece remaining still behind. Of this sundry conjectures, but most agree that it tendeth towards some fireworks.” — Records of the Court of James I
So, our historian from the court of King James relates that well over 100 sheep were reported dead under suspicious circumstances in the countryside around London. These dead sheep didn’t show obvious signs of predation from other animals or humans. Furthermore, the sheep seemed to have been butchered in a rather intentional manner, as only the fat and certain inner organs were missing, as opposed to more valuable parts like their fleece or meat. Obviously, something out of the ordinary occurred that day in England. Exactly what happened remains a mystery.
If this were a one-time event, or if reports of such phenomena were loosely scattered throughout recorded history, then I wouldn’t see much of a need to look into them. But like UFO sightings and abduction stories, cattle (or, in this case, sheep) mutilations are a lot more common than we may think. Not only that, but most cattle/other livestock mutilation incidents all bear some level of resemblance to each other. A repeating phenomenon such as this is hard to ignore. In my mind, it deserves attention, and I don’t think we should just write off the experiences of countless befuddled ranchers who have woken up to scores of mysteriously dead livestock.
In order to better treat this mystery, I first want to present a famous case of livestock mutilation before I describe some of their common characteristics.
The Death of Snippy the Horse
I don’t know why this phenomenon is generally called “cattle mutilation” when many other types of animals have fallen victim to…whatever is causing these deaths. I vote “ungulate mutilations” as the successor term to replace the old one. I hope someone from Merriam-Webster reads this and adds it to the dictionary one day [is there a finder’s fee for new words? Shouldn’t we be compensating the people who coin new vocabulary?].
Regardless, while reports of unusual ungulate deaths had circulated locally in different parts of the United States, it wasn’t until the 1960s that the phenomenon was the subject of national media coverage.
In September of 1967, in the municipality of Alamosa, Colorado, a 3-year-old Appaloosa horse suffered an inexplicable death. Rancher Harry King found the horse’s carcass about a quarter mile from the ranch house, albeit in a bizarre state. According to King, the horse’s neck and head had been completely de-fleshed to the bone. The rest of the body was undisturbed. There was no blood on or around it. Neither were there any tracks in its near vicinity. Furthermore, the area around the dead horse had what witnesses described as a “sickening sweet odor.”
That’s not all. About 50 to 100 yards away from the horse were 15 circular exhaust marks, and about 100 yards north was an area with a 10-foot radius whose vegetation had been noticeably “flattened.”
I think this may be our strongest contender yet for The Thing That Will Get Me To Admit That Aliens Did It. Even though we won’t be doing a deep dive into the Snippy case (although in the future, I may write a newsletter exclusively on the matter), it is still worth taking a look at because it gave livestock mutilations mainstream attention and even set in motion a series of events that would eventually culminate in a federal investigation into this phenomenon.
Before we cover what all livestock mutilation incidents have in common, let’s highlight some key points from the Snippy case. Just like the 1606 sheep mutilation incident, it seems like only a certain part of the victimized animal was targeted. Some level of precision was used in removing Snippy’s flesh down to the bone. Anomalies such as scorch marks, flattened brush, and a lack of footprints, predator tracks, and obvious signs of a struggle also characterized the Snippy case. Keep these things in mind as we zoom out and study the livestock mutilation phenomenon through a broader lens.
The Cattle Mutilation MO
Livestock mutilation cases all have similar characteristics. Whether it’s a horse, cow, sheep, goat, or rabbit, the victim carcass will often only be missing certain body parts and organs, such as its eyes, tongue, esophagus, ears, trachea, udders, rectum, and/or reproductive organs. Ranchers will report the missing parts as being “cut” with precision and intentionality. Occasionally, the victim animal will be drained of blood or the mutilation site itself will be bloodless.
This was the case for many livestock mutilations that were reported after the Snippy case and throughout the 1970s. After a significant amount of public pressure, in 1979, the US federal government tasked the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the objective of determining the cause of reported livestock mutilations and assessing whether the phenomenon constituted a major law enforcement problem.
The federal investigation focused primarily on mutilations occurring in New Mexico, although mutilations happening elsewhere were investigated, too. According to FBI Agent Kenneth Rommel, who led the investigation, by 1979, upwards to 10,000 heads of cattle had been mysteriously mutilated. Although Rommel concluded that the majority of these mutilations had natural explanations, there were still some “anomalous” cases that had no explanation at the ready. The FBI was unable to identify any perpetrators, and to this day, none have been apprehended or charged. Yet, despite the scope of the FBI’s investigation, some are unconvinced by its conclusions.
One such dissenting voice is Gabe Valdez, who investigated mysterious livestock mutilations as a patrolman for the New Mexico State Police. Valdez claims that during the months that FBI investigators studied cattle mutilations in New Mexico, reports of new mutilations suddenly decreased in the area. Furthermore, there is reason to believe that Rommel never witnessed any dead livestock himself, as he was apparently disgusted by necrotic carcasses and preferred to send other investigators to examine the bodies. These facts are worth taking into consideration. Whether they cast doubt on the validity of Rommel’s conclusions is up for debate. Regardless, it bears repeating that the FBI concluded that some cases of livestock mutilation were inexplicable and did not show any signs of natural predation or illness, much like the Snippy case.
Something else to point out is that the federal investigation into livestock mutilations did not have the final say in the wider debate on what caused/is causing mysterious livestock deaths. To this day, ranchers are still waking up to their animals having been killed in a strange manner, much like the cattle deaths investigated by the FBI in 1979.
For instance, in a seven-day span in early 2021, ranchers in Crook County, Oregon lost six heads of cattle to “mysterious mutilation syndrome.” One of the cattle had its udders and sex organs removed. At a different location, rancher Richy Shannon found one of his herd dead with a strange cut down the spine and its cheek, tongue, and three teats missing. As usual, there was no blood or tracks at the scene. At a different location, a cow had one udder removed, its anus missing, and reproductive organs taken without the gut being punctured. Additionally, the cow’s left cheek, left eye, and tongue were missing. A local veterinarian investigating the cattle deaths had no explanation for what happened.
By now, you’ve become at least somewhat suspicious of what’s going on in rural America. You may be wondering what could possibly account for these unexplained livestock deaths. If that’s you, then allow me to help. Next up is our analysis of the possible explanations for these mutilations.
The Cryptid Explanation
Some have suggested that cryptids such as the Chupacabra or a local skinwalker are responsible for livestock mutilations. I will also throw Bigfoot into the mix, as well as Mothman [I may or may not write newsletters on these cryptids in the future].
Here’s my current stance on cryptids. Are there species out there that we have yet to discover? Yes. Are there species out there that can survive an incredibly long time? Look no further than the tortoise. I am open to the possibility of there being some very elusive creatures out there that purposefully avoid humans and are rather fearsome or just strange in appearance. However, I think the chances that these creatures exist are slim. Why haven’t we found any bodies or fossils of these creatures? If these cryptids truly exist, then there would be a whole species of them, and their carcasses would be left for us to find.
As it stands, I don’t think cryptids are responsible for livestock mutilations. That leads us to our next explanation, which involves secret government experiments.
Operation Cattle Rectum
If the government were responsible for these livestock mutilations, then it would be quite the embarrassment for them. Why the obsession with bovine sexual organs and rectums?
I can genuinely see why people would point fingers at the federal government for stealing animal parts for nefarious purposes, such as developing biological weapons. But to me, this explanation doesn’t carry much weight.
If the federal government were researching and developing biological weapons, why would it go through the trouble of trespassing onto private land and surreptitiously collecting cattle specimen in a bloodless, trackless manner? Why wouldn’t they instead purchase their own cattle for research? That way, they would avoid the possibility of one of their agents being caught in the act or even shot for trespassing.
Also, sending livestock assassins to collect an eyeball here and an udder there seems like a horribly inefficient way to collect specimen for experimentation, which would require a lot more body parts than what a team of cattle thieves could collect on a mission. You don’t need me to remind you that Uncle Sam is no miser. As I write this, the US national debt is north of $30.5 trillion. I don’t think he would care about spending money on buying cattle for researching biological weapons.
I don’t think either of these explanations can account for what’s going on with these mutilations. Not to worry, though, as I can think of three other possibilities that, taken together, provide a solid explanation for these mysterious livestock deaths.
Here’s A Fun One — Satanic Cults
This is an explanation that actually makes sense…to an extent.
Believe it or not, there are people out there who practice some form of Satanism or are involved in some kind of ritual paganism. I am not an expert in these religions, as I’d rather spend my time doing other things than reading up on them, but it’s not far-fetched to think that some strains of these religions call for ritualistic animal sacrifice.
Unlike civilizations of old that had entire industries built around raising and selling animals for ritual sacrifice, modern societies don’t look favorably upon killing animals to worship one’s god(s). Besides, purchasing livestock is expensive, and I doubt the modern-day Temple of Amun-Ra has the financial resources to buy a steady supply of cattle for their weekly sacrifices. For people involved in small-scale cults, preying upon cattle in the middle of the night and taking certain organs for ritualistic purposes makes more financial sense.
Could it be that the absence of blood in and around some of the carcasses is the result of Satanic/pagan cults harvesting the animal’s blood for some kind of ritual? I see where that’s definitely plausible.
As far as I’m aware, no one has ever been arrested for unlawful animal sacrifice, but this doesn’t mean that cults aren’t involved. It just means that they’re adept at what they do and have been practicing it for a while. This could explain why so many ranchers and investigators report “precise” cuts being used to harvest certain organs out of their dead livestock. It could also explain why many mutilation sites don’t have any tracks or footsteps around them — perhaps a group of cultists carefully smoothed over the dirt around the dead animal before departing.
All in all, the cult explanation holds the most weight of the ones we’ve considered so far. However, I don’t think it's enough on its own. In all likelihood, cults are responsible for a minority of cattle mutilation incidents given the extremely low number of practicing cults that participate in routine animal sacrifice.
I think there may be other causes. Before I dive into the one that I think has the most explanatory power, I want to take a pass at the alien explanation.
Will You Finally Admit It’s Aliens?
Yes and no.
I love the alien explanation in general. It’s fun. It’s enchanting. It inspires curiosity and imaginative thinking. I don’t know how many times I’ve read about something odd and hoped that the explanation was simply “aliens.”
As I discussed in my piece on the Nuremburg Celestial Event, I think it’s entirely reasonable to believe that intelligent extraterrestrial life exists and has the capacity to communicate with us. I also think that it’s equally reasonable to believe that such contact has already been made.
I think we should all keep an open mind about this. While I will I don’t think we have enough evidence to prove beyond reasonable doubt that aliens have contacted us, I do think that a preponderance of the evidence more or less confirms that this has happened. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that aliens have contacted us and continue to do so. If this were the case, then it seems as though they typically don’t want to be seen by the general public, as UFO sightings never culminate in an archetypal “take me to your leader” event.
That said, it seems like UFOs may be visiting planet Earth for research. They may be studying our flora and fauna. Rather than simply abduct a cow or sheep that they don’t have the capacity to take care of, they opt to covertly extract what they need under the cover of darkness. This tactic makes sense for more than just this reason. If aliens started abducting cattle, this would raise a lot more alarm bells than a mysterious mutilation. Livestock don’t just vanish without a trace. Even when they’re stolen by human thieves, there’s a good chance they can be tracked down. If cattle kept disappearing, I don’t think we would be debating whether natural causes or human mischief are involved. Leaving a body behind allows us to speculate other possible, more earthly culprits.
Of course, this explanation won’t fly in the mainstream unless we have photographic or video evidence. Never mind that there are other kinds of evidence than that which can be captured by a camera. Using deduction based on the circumstances is always a healthy exercise. Does it confirm that extraterrestrials are always involved? No, but what it does accomplish is opening our minds to the possibility that they are sometimes involved.
This is a safe space for ufologists. I want to make that much clear. It doesn’t mean that I will always look favorably upon the alien explanation. It does, however, mean that I am more than open to the idea that aliens could be involved with some of the mysterious things that have happened in our collective human past.
Anyways, we can see where cults and aliens may have a tiny role to play in the cattle mutilation phenomenon. But what about the lead role? Who gets to play that?
I’m afraid the answer is not as exciting as you may want it to be.
Starring Natural Causes
Don’t you hate it when a perfectly good mystery gets ruined by “natural causes?” At least it’s not as bad as a hoax.
Despite the oddities surrounding unexplained livestock deaths, there are still ways they can be explained via natural causes.
Many of the “surgical” incisions found on the carcasses may be the result of tears from postmortem bloat and dehydration. The phenomenon of blood being drained from the carcasses may be the result of blood pooling in the lower extremities of the animal, and the lack of blood around the bodies may be the work of hungry insects or solar desiccation.
Another puzzling aspect of mysterious livestock mutilations is that of selective organs missing from the carcasses. But even this has a natural explanation. Feeding insects usually target soft organs such as the eyes, tongue, genitalia, and certain internal organs when they come across a dead animal.
How boring!
All of these possibilities taken together make a lot of these mysterious livestock deaths seem more mundane.
I don’t think that every mutilation case is the result of cultists, aliens, or natural causes alone. I think we can take a healthy both/and approach here. Obviously, if aliens are at all responsible for any of these cases, it has happened very few times, if at all.
As I discussed in my newsletter on the Nuremberg Celestial Event, sometimes even the most extraordinary of phenomena have the most boring explanations.
As much as I would love it to always be aliens or demons or ghosts, it typically isn’t so.