Cheney Free Press -

ROCK LAKE – A local rancher is perplexed by the castration and slaughter of one of his bulls on or about May 12.

Rancher Rod Mills, the owner of R&J Ranch and Livestock, was notified that one of his bulls had been slaughtered in an unusual fashion that day, according to Whitman County Sheriff’s Office reports. The next day, Mills went out to inspect the carcass himself, finding that the bull had been shot and castrated.

The Spokane County Cattlemen’s Association is offering a $1,000 reward for information on the bull’s killing.

Rancher Jim Wentland said bulls can range in cost from $5,000-$50,000, with a slain bull representing a significant financial and reproductive loss to any livestock operation.

“There should be around 20-25 cows per bull,” Wentland said. “Hopefully, he (Mills) has enough that can cover the bull he lost.”

This is not the first time such an event occurred in the area.

“I’ve heard stories of some of the incidents down in that area before about a female cow flipped upside down in a chute with its reproductive organs cut out,” Wentland said. “We can only hope that it’s over now.”

And it’s not the only report of cattle mutilations around the U.S. in recent months. Six cows in three different counties were slaughtered in Texas. A $5,000 reward is offered for information in those mutilations.