The Animal League Defense Fund is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible. Six cows were mutilated and killed in three Texas counties — Madison, Brazos and Robertson — along Old San Antonio Road earlier this month. This comes as another string of cow deaths, albeit less mysterious, hits closer to home.
The Old San Antonio Road deaths were under similar circumstances, with the cows’ tongues completely removed and a cut along the jawline that appears “straight, clean cut, with apparent precision,” authorities said. Scavenging animals did not touch the cows, and the first cow decayed for several weeks before its discovery. Two cows had their anus and genitalia removed with the same level of precision.
“Regardless of this case’s bizarre details, six cows are victims of these crimes,” Animal Legal Defense Fund Managing Attorney Emily Lewis said in a statement. “Since violent crimes are not always species-specific, we recommend this crime be taken seriously by the entire community. We will do all we can to support law enforcement’s search for answers and accountability for this case.”
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Five additional cows — four adults and one yearling, a 1-year-old cow — were found in identical conditions. The cows’ manner of death is unknown and the incisions were bloodless, with no evidence of struggle, footprints, tire marks or disturbed grass near the bodies. All cows were from different locations, pastures and herds.
“The Madison County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating with other agencies to investigate this case since similar cow deaths and mutilations have occurred throughout the nation in recent years,” wrote Animal League Defense Fund officials in a news release.
The group is the nation’s preeminent legal advocacy organization for animals.
Anyone with information related to these incidents is advised to contact Investigator Foster with the Madison County Sheriff’s Office at 936-348-2755.
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