One of the cows found shot to death on land leased by the Coldstream Ranch.
Image Credit: Contributed
October 21, 2015 - 5:30 PM
**CONTENT ADVISORY: GRAPHIC IMAGES**
VERNON - A $10,000 reward is on the table for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for cattle rustling in the North Okanagan.
Ranchers Tamara and Jeremy Wasylyszyn discovered a cow and calf pair shot dead on their rangeland off the Kettle Valley Forest Service Road near Cherryville on Oct. 20. Both animals had their back tenderloins removed. Their ear tags were also cut off.
“It’s just so unsettling,” Tamara says.
The incident follows a series of at least four other cows found dead on Coldstream Ranch lands near Vernon in the past couple of months.
“It’s getting much more serious now,” Tamara says, noting the offences aren’t just happening in one particular area.
She believes the culprits probably would have taken more meat, but likely ran out of time. The ranchers are appealing to the public to keep an eye out in the backcountry and report any suspicious activity to the authorities. They’re hoping the $10,000 reward will motivate someone to come forward with information.
“Somebody’s got to know something. We’ll see how good of friends he has,” Tamara says.
The Coldstream Ranch has offered a $1,000 reward for information. Their cattle were found shot in the areas of King Edward Lake Road, Postill Lake and the Aberdeen Forest Service Road in Lavington.
You can contact the Vernon RCMP at 250-545-7171 or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
This cow was found dead with its back tenderloins removed on the Wasylyszyn's range lands near Cherryville Oct. 20, 2015.
Image Credit: Contributed
To contact a reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infonews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015