if a cow's dying in a field--(right/wrong question from non-cow owner)

[haTHOR]

should the owner go out and do something like shoot it or give some medical care or *something* if a cow lays in a field and dies over the course of several days? in plain sight of a highway, out close to the road?

i know "ethics" can be different for livestock...but please reassure me that this isn't normal or ok? the owner was either completely ignorant (? is this possible?) or a complete %&?*#%?

what should i have done if finding the owner wasn't possible? call the sheriff? (very rural area, arkansas) is there a law against this? if not...could i have done anything?

i appreciate you letting me ask a few questions about cattle-raising. my grandpa had a few hundred head but i was just a kid and don't remember any details about what he did if a cow was down/dying.

 

[kipepeo]

how do you know it was dying what was going on?

 

[haTHOR]

i don't want to be too graphic but it was laying there one day looking normal but way away from all the other cows. over the course of the next few days it still laid there and the spot collected it's feces, etc. the cow became more and more emaciated until it looked shrunken comapred to just a few days before. then it was down completely. then it was gone. it was just a few miles from my home and i saw it every day for five days.

 

[Katy]

My first question would also be how do you know it was dying?

I raise cattle and yes, if one of my cows was down I'd want to know about it. As often as they get checked by us tho I doubt anyone would see it before my husband or I did.

 

[Illia]

I think the care of beef cattle really depends - I know that out here, most people let their calves birth into the cold of the winter snow with no interaction, no help, not even a barn to go in to for warmth. In fact, most beef raisers out here don't interact with their cattle at all. . .

Our neighbor has a Hereford cow, REALLY old and sad looking girl, with horns practically growing into her skull. She's been around since before we moved here. . . And that was 10 years ago. Yes, cattle should live to be over 20, but not beef cattle. . . They're not built for that.

I'd try and contact someone about it, you may or may not have an irresponsible owner.

 

[Katy]

Are these cows with calves in the field? There are times when a cow has trouble calving and they develop pinched nerves in their hind quarters that doesn't allow them to get up. We've had that happen so the cow lays basically in the same spot for quite some time until the nerves have healed enough to allow her to get up on her own. We use a hip clamp to help them to their feet and support them several times a day to help keep the circulation in their legs.

 

[greathorse]

Cattle in general have enough value to be tended to pretty quickly if they are ill. I dont know of a self respecting animal producer that would let a cow die slowly in a field. My biggest question is who is to say that the cow is dying? Cows that go down dont often last too long.

 

[redhen]

Of course! ANY domestic animal deserves to be taken care of.. Whether it be a meat cow or whatever... the owners should not let it suffer. period.

 

[haTHOR]

greathorse, i don't want to be disrespectful at all, but the cow was definitely dying, at least at the end. i'm no cattle expert but i've seen people and animals die, like most of us have. i did hope for the first 2-3 days that it was just sick or something. but there was no water or food and no tire tracks that would have shown where it was being tended to in any way...this was a muddy but drying up field and tracks would have shown.

 

[melody123]

Are you sure that the cow is dying? My cows and goats act like they are dying all the time. One of my heifers likes to sleep - with her feet in the air. It totally freeks me out. But when I walk up to her she gets up and asks for more food. She's done this a number of times, just trying to give me a heart attack.

I once had a neighbor come to me and say how sorry he was. He had apparently just seen a 1/2 dozen DEAD and DYING goats in my pasture, and he assumed that the neighbors dogs killed them. I counted every goat ten times and walked the whole pasture, everyone was okay. They just like to play dead on sunny days.

If the animal is actually serious injured and possibly dying then the owner may not know. The best thing would be to stop at a local house and ask who's cows they are. Usually people in a neighborhood know who owns what livestock. We drive by them everyday, and have to shoo them back in when they show up in our farm fields.

Also remember that sometimes people pasture ahimals far away from home and don't check on them everyday. The owner may not know that the cow is sick, after all, adult cattle usually need very little care beyond pasture and water.

Now if a cows being starved to death, or is dripping blood, etc - please call the sheriff. The owner may or may not know (The cow could have excaped the pasture, have a blocked stomach, have a disease, have been shot. etc.) but the animal shouldn't have to suffer without some care. The local sheriff should be able to track down the owner or find some medical care for the animal.

But please make sure that the animal isn't just playihng/resting/sleeping before you assume that he/she is dying.