Mysterious Cattle Mutilations

The Mysterious History of Cattle Mutilation

Between April and October of 1975, nearly 200 cases of cattle mutilation were reported in the state of Colorado alone. Throughout the 1970s, cases had continued to mount throughout the American heartland. And in 1979—after thousands of reported cattle mutilations, causing millions of dollars of livestock losses—the FBI finally opened an investigation into a series of cases that had reportedly taken place on New Mexico’s Indian lands. 

Similar cases involving sheep, cows or horses have been reported as far back as the early 17th century and as recently as 2024. The ‘70s cases, however, brought the most widespread attention. On April 19th, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office published a Facebook post about “the death and mutilation” of six cows, with an additional one being found later.

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Texas authorities investigate mysterious cases of dead, mutilated cows

The 6-year-old cow was found dead lying on one side with a “straight, clean cut, with apparent precision,” removing the hide around the exposed side of its mouth, according to the sheriff’s office. The animal’s “tongue was also completely removed,” the sheriff’s office said.

Five other cows — four adults and a yearling — were found in the same condition, except two also had circular cuts “made with the same precision” to remove additional external organs, according to the sheriff’s office.

In all six cases, the sheriff’s office said there were no blood spills or signs of struggle. The grass around the deceased animals was also undisturbed and there were no noticeable footprints or tire tracks in the area, authorities said. Neither predators nor birds scavenged the remains, leaving the bodies to “decay untouched for several weeks,” according to the sheriff’s office.

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Broadly speaking, the debate about cattle mutilation falls into two camps: those who see the mutilations as unexplained phenomena, and those who see them as normal cattle deaths, repackaged as something mysterious or paranormal.

For those in the unexplained camp, opinions have diverged about the possible explanation. Some law enforcement communities opined that the animals were being mutilated by people in strange, quasi-religious rituals.

Reports within the affected ranching communities indicated that the mutilations regularly coincided with the sighting of mysterious unmarked helicopters. Some ranchers who suffered the worst losses believed the federal government had performed the mutilations—for an assortment of reasons, including the testing of biological weaponry. 

Others have blamed unidentified earthbound creatures. At Skinwalker Ranch, a property in northeastern Utah, rancher Terry Sherman lost several heads of cattle to mutilation after buying the 512-acre property in 1996. 

Still, others tie the mutilations to possible extraterrestrial visitors. Filmmaker, science reporter and Stanford-educated author Linda Moulton Howe has looked at more than 1,000 animal mutilation cases, winning an Emmy award for those efforts with her 1980 documentary A Strange Harvest.

But Trey Smith suggests that it’s closer to the occult, but even darker. He believes that these mutilations are a replacement for the ugliest side of child trafficking . . . . the poor man’s adrenechrome.