THE decomposing bodies of about 27 slaughtered cattle was the shocking sight discovered by a farmer near Tully.
Police believe the cattle may have been shot before being dragged and piled up near a creek on the property at Munro Plains, east of Tully, The Cairns Post reports.
The cause of the deaths is yet to be formally determined, with police saying the level of decomposition of the animals’ bodies had made that difficult.
They said the cattle could have been dead for more than a week.
The brahman cattle were reported to have been killed. They were found by the owner of the property, in Ranch Rd, on Saturday morning.
"The owner had actually mustered some of his cattle for a sale and went around to do a bit more of a clean-up and has found this pile of dead cattle," Innisfail police District Insp David Tucker said.
"As for how they have actually been killed, we can only make assumptions at the moment because of the amount of
decomposition.
"There’s an assumption that they have been shot, but we have no evidence of that."
Insp Tucker said the Stock and Rural Crime Squad would investigate.
"It’s very much out of the ordinary for this particular district, and it’s very worrying."
Brahman cattle are the most commonly bred in northern Queensland because of their ability to withstand tropical
conditions.
A spokesman for the Stock and Rural Crime Squad said no further details were available yesterday, with squad members yet to reach the property owner.
It was not known whether the animals were stud or grazing cattle, or the value of the stock loss.
