BEAN BLOSSOM — A local farmer is asking people in his area to help keep an eye out for suspicious activity after two of his cows were shot.
Kenny Wagler discovered two cows at Wagler Dairy Farm had been shot in the jaw on Jan. 8. One cow has “miraculously” survived, he said. The other will not make it.
Wagler said they never heard gunshots, nearby security lights didn’t come on and their dogs didn’t alert them about anyone being in the area. Neighbors were also unaware of any disturbance.
“That’s the crazy part, we never heard any shots,” he said. “These cows were shot right across the road from my house,” Wagler said. “Which makes it more disturbing.”
Shots were fired again in a different pasture on Jan. 13, but no cow was injured. A neighbor heard the shots and jumped in his truck to check it out, but didn’t find anything, Wagler said.
The Waglers are working with Brown County Animal Control to investigate.
This is not the first time one of their cows has suffered at the hands of strangers, Wagler said. Last fall, one was shot with a bow and arrow. Wagler said they performed surgery on the cow in that instance, but it was too traumatic for her to survive.
“I have places for target practice,” Wagler said. “If the person was after meat and they got spooked, I’d offer them meat. I’d make that offer instead of them shoot my cow and let it lay.”
Wagler asks that travelers on Gatesville Road and the public in general help him watch out.
“If you see something suspicious, call it in,” he said. “People would have to stop and aim pretty heavy to shoot two of them in the same spot.”
Brown County Animal Control officer Brian Faulkner said that this would be animal cruelty. Property damage charges also could be warranted, as livestock is considered property.
“The animal did not deserve that,” he said.
Faulkner said patrols will be increasing in that area and asked that anyone with information report it to the Brown County Sheriff’s Department.
“It needs to stop,” he said. “It’s unacceptable behavior towards an animal. I don’t understand it, why anybody would do that.”
