Bizarre and gruesome cattle deaths leave Texas authorities stumped

Six cattle were found along Texas State Highway, some of which had their genitalia and anuses removed

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published April 22, 2023 3:01PM (EDT)

Beef cattle standing in a field (Getty Images)
Beef cattle standing in a field (Getty Images)

Texas authorities are investigating the gruesome deaths of six cattle discovered this week along Texas State Highway and are gathering evidence to determine what, or who, removed their tongues, genitalia and anuses.

According to NBC, the bodies were dumped along the highway in three counties — Madison, Brazos and Robertson — and despite their injuries, no blood was detected at the scenes.

Per NBC's reporting, each of the cattle originated from a different pasture and one of them was a yearling.

The Madison County Sheriff's Office described one particular scene in a statement saying, "A straight, clean cut, with apparent precision, had been made to remove the hide around the cow's mouth on one side, leaving the meat under the removed hide untouched. The tongue was also completely removed from the body with no blood spill." No footprints or tire tracks were detected near their bodies.

"The other cows were found in the same condition, lying on one side with the exposed side of their face cut along the jaw line and the tongue, once again, completely removed," the sheriff furthered. "On two of the five cows, a circular cut was made removing the anus and the external genitalia. This circular cut was made with the same precision as the cuts noted around the jaw lines of each cow . . . No predators or birds would scavenge the remains for several weeks after death."


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 As of Saturday, no further updates have been given and the cause of the cattle deaths remains unknown.


By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Nights and Weekends Editor covering daily news, politics and culture. Her work has been featured in Vulture, The A.V. Club, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, Vice, and elsewhere. She is the author of Something is Always Happening Somewhere.

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