Authorities in northwest Iowa are still looking into the shooting of propane tanks at hog farms, incidents which investigators say may be linked to animal rights activists. Calhoun County Sheriff Bill Davis says the shootings have been spread out over several months, starting back during the summer.
Sherrif Davis says, “We had, on one night, about four tanks shot with a high-powered rifle, at least two in Calhoun County and then two in Sac County, and then here just in September about a month or two after the first incident, we had another four shot in one night.” Davis says his office is working with the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers and is now offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Davis says, so far, only hog farms are being targeted and no one has been hurt. However, he says there is growing concern about whether animal rights groups might be involved. He says there’s no rhyme or reason to the tank shootings. “We’ve speculated a lot of things,” Davis says. “No notes have been left, no threats, e-mails, phone calls, nothing of that nature to indicate who might do it, if there’s somebody mad at these folks, or if it’s just random shootings or if there’s kids out doing it. Every option’s on the table. We’re not going to discount anything.”
Davis asks anyone with information to contact the sheriff’s office at: 712- 975-4168.
Contributed by Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton