ELDRED TOWNSHIP -- State police in Schuylkill County are looking for whoever shot and killed four cows and hurt another one.
Police said early Monday morning five heifers were shot at Hepler Homestead Farms near Ashland. When farm owners Jim and Jesse Hepler checked on their animals, they noticed three dead heifers and two wounded ones.
"The wounded ones had bullet holes in them and on further investigation we saw the ones that were laying dead had bullet holes in the forehead shot at close range," Jim Hepler said.
One of the injured heifers had to be put down.
"This is the future of our business and without them we'll cease to produce milk," Jesse Hepler said.
"These are the replacements for our dairy herd. It takes two years to grow one of these from a baby calf to a replacement cow to be milked," said Jim Hepler.
Hepler says what makes the situation even worse is that the four cows that were killed were all pregnant.
"So actually we had eight animals killed rather than four."
The Heplers say the heifers were worth around $8,000, but they are not as concerned about the money.
"These animals are a part of our family just as anyone's cat or dog would be," Jesse Hepler said.
Jim calls it a senseless crime and says the worst part is knowing his heifers suffered when they were shot in their faces at close range.
"They obviously didn't shoot them for the meat because they left them here. They didn't take anything along. It was just a sport to them."
Investigators say so far there are no leads and no suspects. State police in Schuylkill Haven are investigating the crime.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 570-739-1330.
