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Team coverageIt may have been a joke to someone, but for the ranchers affected, it's not a joke at all. Ten cows were shot in Tooele County sometime in the past week, and more dead cattle are being reported in northern Utah.
In Tooele, one cattle rancher now has to make sure his calves are fed because their mothers were killed in the shootings. Some of the cows were shot several times. "It is very emotional," said Tooele County Chief Deputy Duke North.
Of all the cases that have kept North awake at night, this one is near the top. "I've lived out here my whole life. I know the ranchers out here, and I've helped them, and they've helped me," he said.
Sometime in the past week, someone shot ten cows, killing seven of them, in the Skull Valley area of Tooele County. The other three had to be euthanized.
For rancher Martin Anderson, who is also North's friend, the estimated $15,000 loss is huge. "Most of them have second jobs, or other jobs they can do, so they can ranch. It's very devastating to them," North said.
It's not just this immediate dollar loss Anderson now has to deal with. Before he left for Texas this morning, Eyewitness News spoke with him on the phone. He says this loss could affect him for at least a few years to come.
"It doesn't count the two years he has to raise more calves to replace the ones lost here," North said.
Today, the Utah Cattlemen's Association and other groups put together a $6,500 reward for information leading to the conviction of whoever did this. "The agricultural industry is outraged," explained Brent Tanner, the association's executive vice president.
Leland Hogan, with the Utah Farm Bureau, said, "This is equivalent to walking up to this rancher and putting a gun in his back and saying, ‘Turn over your wallet.'"
A bomb squad x-rayed the cows and looked for bullets and evidence. But everyone knows this is a tough case, which is why deputies are asking for help.
"One thing for sure is I think the individual is going to be happy if law enforcement gets him first before the ranchers," said Tooele County Sheriff Frank Park.
Besides this case, deputies are also looking at recent similar shootings in remote Box Elder County and Cache County. Box Elder County Sheriff Lynn Yeates wonders if the killer is an outsider trying to stir up hate.
Arthur Douglas, of the Utah Farmer's Union, says these shootings are happening more and more. "They think that they can go out there in the wide open spaces and do whatever they want, but it's not so. And we in the agriculture community, it's been stated, we're getting tired of it and we're getting frustrated," he said.
With the prices of everything going up, the Cattlemen's Association says ranchers don't need any more unexpected costs.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
(The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
