WESTERN ONTARIO: Police on the lookout for stolen dairy heifer

NORTH PERTH — In a head-scratcher of a whodunnit, someone stole a 15-month old Holstein heifer from a farm at North Perth, according to local OPP.

Perth County OPP got the call on Feb. 1 that, sometime between Dec. 1 and Jan. 29, someone had broken into the barn and swiped the heifer from a locked pen. According to OMAFRA, a 15-month old heifer will generally weigh between 650 lb. and 850 lb.

Provincial constable Jillian Johnson said that, as of March 1, there was no update on the investigation, but added that police believe the thief would have to be someone with some experience handling cattle. The animal was valued at around $1,200.

There are few cases of cattle rustling. There has only been one case in Ontario of animal activists stealing a cow and that one was dead. In 2019, animal activists ambushed a dairy farm in West Montrose. The farmer told them to leave but they pushed past him and made off with a dead calf from a barn. An Australian animal rights activist was charged in 2018 with stealing a calf from a farm.