Cattle mutilation (also known as bovine excision and unexplained livestock death, or animal mutilation) is the killing and mutilation of cattle under supposedly unusual, usually bloodless circumstances. This phenomenon has been observed among wild animals as well. Worldwide, sheep, horses, goats, pigs, rabbits, cats, dogs, bison, deer and elk have been reported mutilated with similar bloodless excisions; often an ear, eyeball, jaw flesh, tongue, lymph nodes, genitals and rectum are removed.
Since the first reports of animal mutilations, various explanations have been offered, ranging from natural decomposition and normal predation to cults and secretive governmental and military agencies, to a range of speculations, including cryptid predators (such as the chupacabra) and extraterrestrials. Mutilations have been the subject of two independent federal investigations in the United States.
History
The earliest known documented outbreak of unexplained livestock deaths occurred in early 1606 "...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." The outbreak was noted in the official records of the Court of James I of England. Charles Fort collected many accounts of cattle mutilations that occurred in England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. John Keel mentioned investigating animal mutilation cases in 1966 (while with Ivan T. Sanderson) that were being reported in the Upper Ohio River Valley, around Gallipolis, Ohio.
The "Snippy" horse death
Unexplained livestock deaths were relatively unknown until 1967, when the Pueblo Chieftain published a story about a horse called "Snippy" that was mysteriously killed and mutilated in Alamosa, Colorado.
On September 9, 1967, Agnes King and her son Harry reportedly found the dead body of their three-year-old horse. The horse's head and neck had been skinned and defleshed, and the body displayed cuts that, to King, looked very precise. No blood was at the scene, according to Harry, and a strong medicinal odor was in the air.
The story was republished by the wider press and distributed nationwide; this case was the first to feature speculation that extraterrestrial beings and unidentified flying objects were associated with mutilation. A subsequent investigation by Wadsworth Ayer for the Condon Committee concluded that "There was no evidence to support the assertion that the horse's death was associated in any way to abnormal causes".
When the Lewises phoned Alamosa County Sheriff Ben Phillips, he told them that the death was probably due to "a lightning strike" and never bothered to visit the site. Early press coverage of the case misnamed Lady as Snippy. Snippy was Lady's sire and belonged to Nellie's husband, Berle Lewis. Later press coverage mentions that the horse had been shot "in the rump". However, two students from Alamosa State College confessed to sneaking out into the pasture and shooting the horse several weeks after the case was publicized.
1973 cattle deaths
On December 4, 1973, law enforcement reported a wave of cattle deaths in seven counties across Kansas and Nebraska. Sexual organs were reported having been removed. Weeks later, it was reported 38 mysterious cattle deaths had occurred across 11 counties. The Kansas Brand Comissioner's office determined that most of the deaths and removal of sex organs were the result of natural causes including predation, "shipping fever" and blackleg.
1974 Nebraska cattle deaths and unidentified helicopters
By June 1974, mutilations were reported in Lancaster County, Nebraska. On August 20, 1974, the Lincoln Journal Star reported that residents had seen unidentified helicopters shining spotlights into fields where mutilated cows were later found. Know County Sheriff Herbert Thompson claimed helicopter sightings had become a nightly occurrence, with both the FAA and the National Guard reportedly being unaware of any helicopter activity. However, both Thompson and the Nebraska State Patrol found no definite connection between the cattle deaths and the helicopter sightings.
After ranchers began forming night vigils, the National Guard warned its helicopter pilots to fly at higher than normal altitude to avoid fire from "jittery farmers". State leaders called for an investigation.
By October 1974, it was reported that UFO conspiracy theorists considered cattle mutilations might be related to flying saucers.