First case of animal mutilation

I was TDY at Lowery AFB, Denver, Colorado in October of 1967 and I do recall this incident vividly. This story was on all media sources; Television, Radio and newspaper. An apolousa horse by the name of “Snippy” (not Lady) was found mutilated in Alamosa, Colorado. The horse’s owner and Snippy had a daily routine. Every morning the woman would call Snippy to come to her for a bag of oats. But on one particular Snippy did not come when she called. Concerned, the woman went out on the ranch property to a pasture where Snippy usually grazed and she then found Snippy’s lifeless and mutilated corpse.
She then called local law enforcement because of the strange way that the animal appeared to have been mutilated. When local authorities arrived at the ranch, they in turn immediately summoned an Air Force investigations team. When the team arrived on the scene, it immediately put a lid on the story and blacked out any further news coverage about this bizarre incident.
(Being in the Air Force at the time, I was curious about not only why the Air Force had been called in, but why The Military was even involved to begin with. Of course, Project Bluebook was still doing UFO investigations. However, it was never divulged to the public why this story was blacked out, what branch of the Air Force conducted the investigation and why it’s conclusions regarding this matter were never made public.)
I might also add that during this time frame there had been a statewide flap of UFO sightings. In Aspen, Colorado an evening fund raising dinner whose guests included the Mayor of Denver, Colorado and several dignitaries, observed a formation of UFOS that had flown overhead.)

obserever
September 22, 2015 at 6:02 pm

If i remember right, there were younger cases of cattle mutilation from around 1800.

Steve Nance
June 18, 2016 at 8:35 pm

I was TDY at Lowery AFB, Denver, Colorado in October of 1967 and I do recall this incident vividly. This story was on all media sources; Television, Radio and newspaper. An apolousa horse by the name of “Snippy” (not Lady) was found mutilated in Alamosa, Colorado. The horse’s owner and Snippy had a daily routine. Every morning the woman would call Snippy to come to her for a bag of oats. But on one particular Snippy did not come when she called. Concerned, the woman went out on the ranch property to a pasture where Snippy usually grazed and she then found Snippy’s lifeless and mutilated corpse.
She then called local law enforcement because of the strange way that the animal appeared to have been mutilated. When local authorities arrived at the ranch, they in turn immediately summoned an Air Force investigations team. When the team arrived on the scene, it immediately put a lid on the story and blacked out any further news coverage about this bizarre incident.
(Being in the Air Force at the time, I was curious about not only why the Air Force had been called in, but why The Military was even involved to begin with. Of course, Project Bluebook was still doing UFO investigations. However, it was never divulged to the public why this story was blacked out, what branch of the Air Force conducted the investigation and why it’s conclusions regarding this matter were never made public.)
I might also add that during this time frame there had been a statewide flap of UFO sightings. In Aspen, Colorado an evening fund raising dinner whose guests included the Mayor of Denver, Colorado and several dignitaries, observed a formation of UFOS that had flown overhead.)