Cattle Mutilation 2

 

Cattle Mutilation - The Unthinkable Truth

© 1976 by Fredrick W. Smith, Freedland Publishers

Chapter 1, Part Two

"Dr. Urich, the county coroner, said:
'The cutting (on the 1500-pound buffalo near NORAD)
was done neatly, cleanly, obviously with a very sharp instrument.
The dissection was of the type that would eliminate any type of predator.'
He said the hide was removed by someone who did not puncture
the tissue layer directly under the hide. 'It was better than I could
do if I were trying. It was really an expert job.'"

- The Colorado Springs Sun, October 23, 1975

H elicopters have been reported acting suspiciously or even threateningly in ranch areas. But no actual evidence of this or identification of the aircraft is available. Others feel that various factors such as noise, anger and expense rule out the helicopter theory. Some of the beefs that have allegedly been transported weigh half to three quarters of a ton or more, which would require a very large, noisy and expensive helicopter that requires specialized servicing. In any case, the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) has canceled a helicopter survey of several rural counties because it could not guarantee the safety of their crews from high flying lead (bullets).

Interest in cattle mutilations, as might well be imagined, is not confined to lawmen. The following is a report from Steamboat, several hundred miles removed from the Elbert County mutilation hot spot.

Colorado U. S. Senator Floyd Haskell News Release, September 18, 1975

"Routt County cattlemen were out in full force as several matters of extreme importance were discussed at a special meeting last Friday night in the District Courtroom. Sheriff Jay Kelton and Wildlife Conservation officer, Joe Gerrans, along with two Colorado Cattlemen's Association executive officers, addressed the group. CCA's executive secretary explained the legal ramifications of indiscriminate shooting at low flying aircraft and warned the group against taking any action into their hands.

"Kelton told the group that the one positively identified case of cattle mutilation in Routt County did not follow the pattern that has been reported in other counties. (FS Note: It was shot and the sex organs weren't removed.) Kelton was called out in the middle of the meeting to investigate a reported helicopter in the Twentymile area. Law officers found the sighting was, instead, a bright star shining through low-lying clouds in that area southwest of Steamboat Springs.

"State CCA officers told the cattlemen that there as yet has been no proof of helicopter involvement in any of the alleged cattle mutilations. The state organization has posted a $5,000 reward for the apprehension and conviction of any cattle mutilator. In this area, the Routt cattle organization has posted a $1,500 reward, and (the town) Sherrod has offered $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of that person responsible for the mutilation of his calf.

"The packed courtroom was alive with emotions and anger about what seems to be a growing problem in the livestock industry in the Rocky Mountain states."

Colorado's senior U. S. Senator, Floyd K. Haskell, has also been extremely interested in the phenomenon and has tried to get federal assistance. In his September 18, 1975 Haskell News Release, he said:

"I talked with FBI Director Clarence Kelley and also with his chief assistant in Washington," Haskell said, "and they looked into the possible grounds for the FBI to enter the case. But since there is no evidence of interstate movements in connection with the reported mutilations, the FBI concluded that it has no jurisdiction."

Unable to get FBI assistance, Haskell then asked the Interior Department to make personal and other resources at its Denver Wildlife Research Center available to help the Colorado Bureau of Investigation in its investigation of cattle mutilation in Colorado. Haskell explained (his perspective) in a letter to Interior Secretary Thomas Kleppe, reprinted in Sen. Haskell's November 4, 1975 News Release:

"A major hurdle in the investigation has been the lack of adequate manpower to reach the cattle carcasses promptly and conduct the necessary on-site tests to fully determine the cause of death, how the mutilations were done and whether predators were involved. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation believes it would be extremely helpful to have the technical help and the specialized expertise at the center.

"Haskell told Kleppe that autopsies done at Colorado State University show that sharp instruments were used on some of the carcasses, but that other damage appears to have been done by predators. In cases in which the cause of death could be established, the CSU autopsies showed cattle died of natural causes.

"Upon Haskell's request, the Interior Department decided to make the Denver Wildlife Research Center available to investigate cattle mutilations. I (Haskell) hope we can determine what's behind the mutilations soon and lay to rest some of the bizarre rumors that are circulating."

The question of possible UFO involvement has also called for radiation monitoring. So far, no radioactivity above natural background has been reported. Farmers and ranchers with many years of experience seeing sick, dying and dead livestock, tend to be scornful of the idea that mutilated stock have died of disease, accident, old age or other so-called natural causes.
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The Delta County Independent, Delta, Colorado, September 22, 1975

"DENVER - Two Colorado legislators, concerned by the many conflicting reports being circulated with regard to the recent cattle mutilations, have undertaken their own study of the facts involved. State Rep. C. B. 'Bev' Bledsoe of Hugo and State Sen. Ralph A. Cole of Littleton, both Republicans, said they have been working recently to compile established facts regarding panic and the spread of unfounded rumors.

"Bledsoe, a cattleman himself said, 'Since much of the area involved lies in Sen. Cole's district and mine, we decided that a simple compilation of the known provable facts, scientifically gathered and considered in the light of existing laws, would be valuable to our constituents. Bledsoe represents eight eastern Colorado counties and Cole five.

"In collecting their information, Bledsoe and Cole talked to area ranchers, citizens, sheriff's departments, other law enforcement agencies, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which is acting as a coordinating agency in the investigation.

"According to Cole, 'The first question we asked was: Are there really cattle mutilations?' The answer, unfortunately, was an unqualified, 'Yes.' Based on the scientific evaluation of the carcasses by veterinarians and animal pathologists, it can be determined whether wounds are caused by predators or by knives. A number of autopsies performed show wounds inflicted by knives.

"Bledsoe said that there have been 129 reported cases, but not all have proven to be actual mutilations. A former president of the Colorado Cattlemen's Association, Bledsoe noted that of Colorado's approximately three million cattle, at least 30,000 could be expected to die of natural causes annually.

"'At this point,' Bledsoe said, 'there is no proof that any of these 129 head actually died of causes other than natural, so there is no real proof that the mutilators kill the cattle involved. However, there are some drugs that will kill an animal within six minutes and be undetectable in the carcass 20 minutes later,' he added, pointing out that it is difficult to determine if the cattle are mutilated immediately following death, or some time thereafter.

"Cole, an attorney, said that the possible penalties assessable in this situation range from cruelty to animals to trespass to destruction of property up to a Class Four felony for which the maximum is ten years in prison and a $30,000 fine.

"Cole pointed out that there has been much speculation that helicopters were involved in the mutilations, with some of the reported cases showing evidence of helicopter use in the area. He noted, however, that helicopter pilots consider flying at night without lights in unfamiliar country extremely dangerous and said that the authorities are certainly no helicopters in Colorado are equipped with radar, other than those used by the U. S. Army at Ft. Carson for sighting guns.

"'If an unmarked, unlit helicopter is apprehended,' Cole said, 'the pilot can only be charged with relatively minor violations.' The two lawmakers said that the Colorado National Guard could be involved in the investigation to a slight degree, in that the Guard will report strange aircraft observed by members on their training flights. The Guard, like the Army, is prohibited from other participation, although the Army can loan equipment for aerial reconnaissance of the area.

"'The mutilations started in Minnesota,' Bledsoe said, 'then spread to Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. In the last five states listed, they are still going on, although the pattern seems to indicate an abrupt ending, when they finally do stop.'"

Along with never having been surprised in the act, and not leaving any clues whatever, perhaps the most amazing thing to ranchers and lawmen who examine the carcasses is the beautiful precision with which the cuts have been made and the skill with which the various organs are excised. "Perfect" is the only word to adequately describe the difficult skinning and surgery, which is also unexplainably bloodless. Whoever sees the cuts knows that he could not even begin to do it that beautifully. Equally astonishing is what happens afterward.

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The Telluride Times, Telluride, Colorado, September 21, 1975

"Further adding to the mystery is the lack of rigor mortis in the dead animals. According to one sheriff's office spokesperson, cattle that had been dead for five days 'were as limber as you and I.' Rigor mortis normally sets in one hour after death.

"Equally as cryptic as the lack of rigor mortis is that none of the cattle have been picked apart by animals or birds in the days after their speculated deaths. 'Nothing will eat them,' Ellis said (Gunnison Deputy Sheriff David Ellis). 'We don't have any idea why (predators don't eat them). 'Not even maggots have appeared on the dead animals,' another sheriff's spokesperson said."

The same phenomenon has been observed in other states where cattle have been mutilated. Jim Hileman, sheriff of Adams County, Idaho, a rugged logging livestock country in west-central Idaho bordering on Oregon and the famous Hell's Canyon area, said, "I've made it a point to go out personally on all these cases." His report of the parts cut off the animals, including "the complete rectal area," tongues and udders, parallels the reports of Colorado sheriffs.

Hileman said he was "reluctant for some time" to ascribe the killings to devil worshipers or cultists. But after seeing the mutilated animals himself and conferring "with anybody that had information" on the subject, he decided, "By God, that's what's happening."

The Denver Post, Denver, Colorado, July 11, 1975