Drayton Valley, Alberta, WESTERN REVIEW, 28 July 1992, page 1

Mutilated cow not 'man-made' death
By Darren Pinkoski
Staff Writer

A cow found mutilated on a farm near Drayton Valley is not the work of aliens or satanic cults, according to police.

Last month, Breton RCMP were called to investigate the discovery of a mutilated cow on a farm near Lindale.

According to Breton detachment Cpl. Ken Zielke, an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death was impossible due to the deteriorated condition of the carcass.

The cow had been dead for approximately four days and was heavily infested with maggots when police were called to investigate.

Zielke said, from photographs of the carcass taken to two veterinarians, it was the opinion of both that the cause of death was "not man-made."

He said coyotes commonly go after the softer tissue of the animal, such as the udder and sex organs. Bloating will also stretch the skin around the opening, making the gouges appear to be made by sharp edges, such as a knife.

Six mutilated cattle found recently on a Leduc-area farm have been attributed to everything from aliens to satanic cults.

Last week, a veterinarian determined that the cause of death of at least one of the Leduc cows was natural causes, complications from an abscessed liver.

Breton police, however, couldn't explain the sighting of a man in a white car reported by the owner of the mutilated cow allegedly casing a neighbor's herd.

Drayton Valley, Alberta, WESTERN REVIEW, 5 August 1992, page 2

Farmer still skeptical of local cow mutilation
By Darren Pinkoski
Staff Writer

A coyote attack just doesn't fully explain what happened to a mutilated cow found on a Lindale-area farm, according to its owner.

"I know for sure it wasn't a coyote that did it," said Roy Silver. "I've never seen a coyote with a knife and fork."

According to Breton RCMP, opinions from two veterinarians based on photographs, was that the cause of death of a cow found on Silver's property in June was 'not man-made.'

The cause of death was attributed to a coyote kill and the sharp, defined gouges around where the udder used to be to the stretching of the skin due to bloating.

Silver concedes the cause of death may not have been from a knife or gun but still believes the death to be man-made.

"There's more to this than just observing what you see."

He said coyotes and other scavenger animals will usually gut a carcass but left this one alone after finishing the udder.

Silver said he'd witnessed coyotes and crows ignoring the carcass and said this may indicate the animal was poisoned.

"That's definitely what I figure."

He explained it isn't so much the financial loss of a $1,200 cow and its one-month old calf, which has since disappeared, but the added stress on day-to-day operations as well.

"It's caused us an awful lot of grief."

Silver said the incident has caused him to change the way he operates his farm, from restricting his animals' movements in the pasture to observing any car that travels past his land.

He said his neighbors have also altered their operating procedures to keep a closer watch on their livestock.

"We've got to. We're not getting any help from anybody else."

Silver's attempts to receive help from the province's attorney general's department and the department of agriculture, have both to come no avail.

"This was definitely done by people," said Silver, who isn't ruling out the incident being the work of cults.

"There's no other reason why they would be doing it."