Case file No. 14 · Fields, photos and lights
Cattle mutilations
The claim
Since the 1960s, cattle have been found dead with organs removed by clean cuts and no blood, and without tracks. Aliens or secret groups are doing it.
Explained
The cases are explained by predators and decay.
The best-known investigation, run by a former FBI agent in 1979 and 1980, concluded that the cases were predominantly the result of natural predation and scavenging. The damage looks surgical because of the way soft tissue decays and is eaten.
Short answer
In the 1970s ranchers in the western United States reported dead cattle with parts missing, such as lips, tongue, eyes, genitals or udder, and apparently no blood [2]. In 1979 and 1980 a federal grant paid a former FBI agent, Kenneth Rommel, to investigate for the New Mexico district attorney. His report concluded that the cases were predominantly the result of natural predation and scavenging of animals that had died naturally, and that blood had pooled and clotted rather than been drained [1]. We found no verified physical evidence of any other cause.
What supporters can show
The cuts look clean and precise
Little or no blood was found
No tracks around the animal
Claims that supporters often repeat and that we looked for but could not confirm in a reliable source.
- Surgical precision confirmed by laboratories. Some authors say laboratory work confirmed cuts made with a heated instrument. We found no independent published report.
- Unmarked helicopters. Reports of black helicopters near the sites. We found no verified link between aircraft and any animal.
What science found
The best investigation found natural causes
Between 1979 and 1980 Kenneth Rommel Jr., a former FBI agent, led a funded investigation for the district attorney's office in New Mexico. It examined the cases reported in the state in that year and concluded that they were predominantly the result of natural predation and scavenging of animals that had died naturally [1].
Scavengers go for soft tissue first
Predators and scavengers such as coyotes, foxes and birds usually begin feeding at the soft parts of a carcass, such as eyes, tongue, lips, udder and genitals, which are the same places reported in the cases [1].
Dead bodies change quickly
After death, tissues dry and shrink at the edges, which can make a wound look smooth. Blood settles to the lowest parts, clots and soaks into the ground, so the carcass can look nearly bloodless. Rommel reported that blood had pooled and clotted in the lower parts of the animals, not been drained [1].
The number of cases was small
Rommel counted 27 reported cases in New Mexico in the year of the project, and examined or reviewed the evidence in all of them. Each of these was examined [1].
What is still open
Deliberate cases of animal cruelty by people, and thefts, do occur. Each case deserves a veterinary examination and a police report [1].
If this happens to you
If you find a dead animal that you suspect was killed by others, call a veterinarian and the local authorities and photograph the carcass in place. Do not touch it, and keep other animals away.
Sources
- Rommel, K. M., Jr. (1980). Operation Animal Mutilation: Report of the District Attorney, First Judicial District, State of New Mexico. Office of the District Attorney, Santa Fe.
- Kagan, D., & Summers, I. (1983). Mute Evidence. Bantam Books.
Change log
15 November 2026: First publication. Verdict: Explained.