Cattle rustlers strike

By Sarah Schwager
CORA LYNN dairy farmers were shocked to discover a cow had been stolen from their property in the middle of the night.
The pure bred Friesian cow worth $2500 went missing on the morning of Wednesday, 1 February.
Owner Robin McCauley said a neighbour had seen a horse truck at about 3am near the Mackillop Road property.
“Who’d be out at three in the morning with a horse truck?” Mr McCauley said.
Mr McCauley, along with his wife, June, and sons, Phillip and Jeffrey, milk 550 cows at their dairy farm.
Mr McCauley said they discovered the missing cow on the following weekend thanks to a computer system that noticed the empty milk bottles.
They contacted police first thing on Monday morning.
“This sort of thing happens all the time. I went knocking on doors after it happened and there’s no end to the number of people who have lost cows,” Mr McCauley said.
He said most farmers never noticed they had gone.
But the loss has forced the dairy farmer to offer a cash reward on return of the cow.
According to Mr McCauley, on the same night a neighbour’s cow was almost stolen but ran into a pond on Convent School Road, where the truck was seen.
“One of the neighbours was out feeding a horse and he saw the truck go up and back along the road,” Mr McCauley said.
“Another woman heard the truck at the same hour.”
The cow is a fouryearold milking heifer. All pure bred cows that are not plain white have distinctive markings.
Bunyip police said they were investigating the incident and urged people to keep a lookout for a cow or truck matching the descriptions.
The horse truck is described as being slightly dilapidated with a silver over cabin and white front.
Anyone with information should contact Bunyip police on 5629 5205.