BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah, Oct. 27, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — The Humane Society of Utah is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the fatal shooting of several cattle in Utah, Iron and Box Elder Counties.
“The Humane Society of Utah hopes the reward assists the county sheriff departments in obtaining information required to identify and charge whoever is responsible for this allegedly intentional act of animal cruelty,” said a news release from the society.
According to a statement from Utah cattle and agricultural officials, the killings occurred over the past couple of weeks.
It is unknown at this time if the cases are related.
“Intentionally killing these cattle is an egregious act of animal cruelty and a great loss to the owners,” said Vaughn Maurice, Humane Society of Utah executive director. “We need to find and convict the person responsible to the full extent of the law, especially if these killings are related.”
Anyone with information about suspicious activity or observations related to these crimes should contact the Utah County Sheriff at 801-851-4000, Iron County Sheriff at 435-867-7500, Box Elder County Sheriff at 435-734-3800 or Hunting the UDAF’s Brand Bureau Chief at 801-538-7100.
Just two days ago, a rancher in the unincorporated Grouse Creek area of Box Elder County announced a reward will be offered to the person who can provide information that leads to the apprehension and arrest of those responsible for the suspicious death of one of his cows.
The rancher found the cow on Wednesday, and estimated it had been dead about two to four days. Because of damage done by predators on the carcass, it can’t be determined what killed the animal, a statement from the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office said.
“It was suspicious to the rancher because the cow was partially concealed by some willows and the predator activity was not at a normal starting point on the carcass,” a statement said. “The usual locations had been attacked; but a significant amount of activity was at an unusual place on the carcass.”
The rancher, Jay Tanner, posted a photo (above) on his Facebook page in hopes to get the word out to hunters and such to be cautious in the area, the BESO statement said.
“The cow was raising a calf but luckily the calf is of the age that it will survive on its own. Mr. Tanner was very gracious in giving everyone the benefit of the doubt that this could easily been an accidental shooting, if it was a shooting, because the cow was partially concealed by brush and willows in the area,” the statement said.
“However, the fields were legally posted ‘No Trespassing,’ and with other livestock in the area they should not have been shooting there.”
The Utah Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the Utah Farm Bureau and Utah Cattlemen’s Association is offering the reward for information leading to the conviction.
The sheriff’s office said it will be posting details on the reward on its Facebook page. That paged can be reached by clicking here.
