Fri, May 09, 2008
 Six cows were discovered shot to death in the Redington Pass area Friday. The cattle, valued at $1,000 each, belonged to the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch, whose owner says more than 12 have been killed in the last year.
James S. wood / arizona daily star
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Carcasses of 6 cattle found; all had been shot to death arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 01.30.2007
The discovery of six cows shot to death near a watering hole in the Redington Pass area Friday, has the owner and the Pima County Sheriff's Department asking for help tracking down the shooter.
The owner has offered a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in connection with the shooting.
Four of the cows were discovered within 48 hours of the shooting, said Marsh Myers, spokesman for the Animal Cruelty Task Force of Southern Arizona..
The two others had been shot and killed in the past six weeks, Myers said.
The shooter, or shooters, could face criminal and civil charges, Myers said.
The area east of Tucson has problems with illegal shooting — with targets including native plants, animals and road signs — and illegal dumping, Myers said.
The problems often go hand-in-hand, said Pima County Sheriff's Department Detective Mike Duffey.
"All kinds of things get shot up there," Duffey said. "But mostly it's the junk that people bring up there to shoot."
Now it seems people — bored with shooting other targets — are aiming at cows, Duffey said.
The cattle belonged to the Tanque Verde Guest Ranch, 14301 E. Speedway, and were worth about $1,000 each, said ranch owner Bob Cote.
Illegal shooting has been a problem in the open range, but finding six dead cows at once is unusual, he said.
The cows were found near a wildcat shooting range — U.S. Forest Service land where shooters can take target practice, Cote said.
Cote said he's had more than 12 cows shot dead in the past year and that the Sheriff's Department could patrol the area more regularly to look for illegal activity.
The guest ranch has an active cow-calf business, Cote said. Ranchers raise the mothers and sell the calves to a feedlot for processing. The ranch has about 700 cows, Cote said.
The problem is about more than the value of the cows, though, Cote said.
"People should not be shooting animals like that," he said. "If they start shooting at animals, what's the difference between shooting at people. It's not that big a jump."
● Contact reporter Dale Quinn at 629-9412 or dquinn@azstarnet.com.
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