Sheep shot as they grazed in a pasture in Sugarcreek
SUGARCREEK (WJER) (August 1, 2022) – Police say somebody shot three sheep as they grazed in a field overnight in Sugarcreek Township Friday.
Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell says a Pleasant Valley Road resident called police just before 1 p.m. after finding one dead sheep and two injured ones, each with what appeared to be bullet wounds.
He says investigators don’t have much in the way of leads.
“It perplexes us as to why somebody would want to just shoot a few sheep who are grazing in a pasture, but at this point we’re just going to have to hope that somebody will know something and give us a call,” Campbell said.
He says it’s concerning because people who would act with such violence toward animals sometimes progress to violence against people. He hopes that’s not the case here.
“It could have been someone who just had bad judgment out with a rifle and decided to do something stupid,” Campbell said.
“One of those things we’re always concerned about is animal abuse… We never just assume it’s going to stay with animals, and this one really concerns us.”
Campbell says it appears to be an isolated incident, and the farmer couldn’t think of anybody who might be upset with him.