NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. (WFLA) — A man was arrested Tuesday in Florida after he shot his neighbor’s cow multiple times because he was “angry” it jumped over his fence, deputies said.
Members of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Agriculture Unit responded to a local ranch, where they found the 2-year-old calf on the neighbor’s property with at least five gunshot wounds.
Authorities said the calf had been shot in the guts, chest and rear leg. Body camera video showed the animal lying on the ground and struggling to move as deputies approached.
“He must’ve shot her, like, several times. I don’t think it’s shotgun,” one deputy said.
The calf’s injuries were so severe a veterinarian determined it needed to be euthanized, the sheriff’s office explained.
The cow’s owner told investigators his neighbor, Hung Trinh, 54, had been angry with him before about livestock jumping over the fence and had threatened to shoot his animals.
A search warrant was executed, and deputies said they found the .22 caliber gun Trinh is believed to have used to shoot the calf in a shed on his property.
He was charged with animal cruelty and grand theft of a commercial farm animal, according to the sheriff’s office.
“There will be accountability for taking your frustrations out on innocent animals, in this case multiple felonies and jail time,” said Sheriff Carmine Marceno. “We know how much these animals mean to our farming community, and we will not tolerate these actions. I am proud of my Agriculture Unit for their immediate response and ability to make an arrest in this case.”