Three cows shot, one butchered

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Tim Hunter feeds his cattle near the area where three of his pregnant cows were shot Sunday morning. A reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest in the case.Bob Pennell

November 10, 2009

By Damian Mann

Mail Tribune

A 54-year-old Jacksonville rancher found three of his pregnant cows shot early Saturday morning, including one that had been partially butchered on the side of the road after it had been dragged for half a mile.

"They did take a hindquarter off the one they wasted," Tim Hunter said.

The cows were shot as they were lying next to their feed bunks around 2 a.m. near Hunter's ranch off Highway 238.

The Rogue Valley Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, which uses Hunter's property for landings, is offering a $2,000 reward to anyone with information about the cow shooting. Call 541-261-4900 or send an e-mail to reward@garywest.com.

Two of the cows were still alive when Hunter found them in the morning, one with a hole through its nose where it had been shot. Both badly injured cows, each weighing about 1,400 pounds, were later killed and butchered, he said.

"I've raised every one of them," Hunter said, pointing to his cattle herd. "They may as well have come up to my porch and shot my dog."

A third cow, weighing about 1,800 pounds, was dragged up a road off Highway 238, where the shooter or shooters attempted to butcher it, leaving a trail of blood in their wake.

"They took the leg, the foot — everything," Hunter said. Based on the way the cow was hacked apart, Hunter said, he didn't think the attackers knew what they were doing.

He said he's not sure how the leg bone was separated from the body of the cow, theorizing that a pickup might have been used to pull it apart.

Neighbors heard the shots, but didn't think much of it because it was at the end of deer season, Hunter said.

"My theory is someone didn't get a deer," he said. "They don't have any respect for life or someone else's property."

He surmised that the attackers might have been drunk, having found two empty beer cans close to where the cows were killed.

The weapon used was a shotgun loaded with a slug, he said.

Hunter discovered his loss when a neighbor who walks up a road every morning discovered the carcass of the partially butchered cow.

This is the first time he has had a problem with poachers, said Hunter, estimating the monetary loss for the three cows totaled about $3,600.

Income from cattle and hay sales helped the Hunters raise their three grown children, Megan, Caleb and Rachel.

Hunter said the Jackson County Sheriff's Department will investigate the attack. He said he was expecting to see a deputy today.

The cows would have calved in February. The Hunters have 130 pregnant cows on their ranch.

"My parents make a living at raising cows," said Hunter's 28-year-old daughter, Megan Hunter. "They are still in shock about it."

Paul Murdoch, president of the Hang Gliding Association, said the Hunters have let his organization land on their pasture for 30 years and have never accepted compensation.

"They just let us do it because they are just kind folks," he said. "Tim's got a great operation. He's good to his cows. He's been pretty violated."

Murdoch said Hunter expressed concern that something like this could happen again, which prompted members of the association to pony up the money.

"We wanted to have some kind of reward to capture these folks," he said.

Deer hunters often use a nearby Bureau of Land Management road to reach forestland for hunting.

"It's really discouraging when somebody abuses that," Murdoch said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com.

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