Case file · Animal mutilation
Minnesota cattle mutilations
Minnesota recorded 22 mutilated cattle between 1970 and 1974; reports in December 1974 listed six in Swift County, two in Kandiyohi County and one in Meeker County said to be drained of blood.
1974 CE · 45.28, -95.69 · status: disputed
The sceptical view
An ATF inquiry opened in January 1975 found insufficient evidence of cult involvement and closed that spring; the FBI's 1980 Rommel report attributed most cases to predators and scavengers.
The researched reading
A handful of cattle deaths in Minnesota. Scavengers and decay explain them.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A known natural phenomenon | 50% | The FBI’s Rommel report attributed most mutilations to predators and scavengers. |
| Undetermined | 17% | The share the reading had given to fabrication on doubt rather than evidence: the record does not settle it either way. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 12% | Once mutilations were reported, ordinary dead cattle were reinterpreted. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 5% | The ATF investigated possible cult involvement, finding insufficient evidence. |
| Something known, misidentified | 5% | Some cases may be misjudged natural deaths. |
| Secret human technology | 5% | Secret sampling has been proposed without evidence. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 4% | Nothing found requires a non-human agent. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 2% | No unknown natural cause is needed. |
Official position: The ATF found insufficient evidence of cult involvement; the Rommel report attributed most cases to predators and scavengers.