"Science Never Investigates", Except When It Does: Cattle Mutilation Edition

[Axxman300]

"Science Never Investigates", Except When It Does: Cattle Mutilation Edition

This is a solid research paper out of Canada, from1989:

Maggots, mutilations and myth: Patterns of postmortem scavenging of the bovine carcass

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1681190/

Based upon what is known about the habits of common carrion eaters in Alberta, we review the patterns of postmortem scavenging of carcasses of cattle. We then compare with these patterns those reported in the lay press and by veterinarians investigating cattle mutilations in Alberta. We conclude that the so-called “mutilation” of cattle in Alberta was due to scavenging of carcasses and further conclude that claims of human involvement in such incidents require, as a first condition, that postmortem scavenging of the carcass be excluded.

This paper was never brought up in any conversations at my UFO Discussion Group back in the mid-1990s, for some reason. Weird, considering the "extensive research" UFOlogists are known for.

...unless Canada is in on it...

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

This is a solid research paper out of Canada, from1989:

Maggots, mutilations and myth: Patterns of postmortem scavenging of the bovine carcass

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1681190/

Based upon what is known about the habits of common carrion eaters in Alberta, we review the patterns of postmortem scavenging of carcasses of cattle. We then compare with these patterns those reported in the lay press and by veterinarians investigating cattle mutilations in Alberta. We conclude that the so-called “mutilation” of cattle in Alberta was due to scavenging of carcasses and further conclude that claims of human involvement in such incidents require, as a first condition, that postmortem scavenging of the carcass be excluded.

This paper was never brought up in any conversations at my UFO Discussion Group back in the mid-1990s, for some reason. Weird, considering the "extensive research" UFOlogists are known for.

...unless Canada is in on it...

ISTR a study I read about that time that actually tested what happened when you left an animal carcass out in a field for few days (carefully monitored for signs of alien activity . . . just in case). The results were much as described in this article.

 

[kookbreaker]

Yeah, I recall the reaction to this study and some others. The cattle ranchers claimed that if animals did that, they did with knives, to which the researcher countered “If surgeons did that, they did it with their teeth”.

Way back in the USENET days someone did a study of mutilation cases and found the number of cases tended to drop at county borders, meaning that some assessors (insurance, medical) would more happily assign a case to the mutilation bucket, meaning the rancher could get a payout while a cattle just dropping dead got nothing.