Foal killed / eaten(?!) in Wales

Awful. Wonder what on earth did that? If a big cat I would have thought it would have taken the carcass away though. Bizarre and not a nice thing to find at all.
 
Why would it be a scam though? Why would someone do that from their obviously personal account by the comments from people that know them on their?
 
We had a sheep killed by a puma, told to keep it hushed. Looked similar to that but badger had also helped to strip it. Pretty grim and horrible to find. There have been a number of reports in our area of a large black cat but haven't heard much in the last year or so. A fox or badger wouldn't kill a foal but I guess it could've been a dog...horrific all the same, imagine the mare will be very distressed.
 
^how did you know it was a puma?
I'm a big believer that there will be some big cats out and about from the wild animal licensing still.
 
It got sent to a lab for analyses. They thought it was highly likely based on the teeth marks but that the DNA samples were inconclusive due to it having been stripped by other animals such as badgers/foxes etc and a small domestic cat had been on it too. Basically they couldn't say for certain. It was a few years ago now and I haven't seen/heard of anything since but all the local farmers were aware and were looking to shoot it if they saw it again.
 
Well, whatever "IT" was or is, one of our big strong calves was found a few days ago in the field.
 
JoannaC said:
If you read the comments the foal was alive and big and strong so not stillborn. Very sad probably foxes though or dogs
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Having controlled foxes in the Highlands for many years and seen more than one sheep stripped of flesh over night, without doubt foxes. I have no experience of badgers.

As for it being reported as having been killed, remember the journalist's motto, "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story".:D

A Hungry fox is quite capable of attacking a fully grown ewe, provided it is incapacitated in some way (lambing, on it's back, sick, etc), so why not a dead foal? Even a government study concluded that a fox can kill a healthy lamb up to 10kgs in weight (Journal of Applied Ecology, Hewson, 1984).

If there are big cats about, how come nobody saw their foot prints in the recent snow? Humbug!
 
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There's been sightings of a 'big, black cat' in our area (mid Wales) on farms on the outskirts of the forestry.

Also, we've got foxes working as packs now. Our neighbour caught two trying to bring down a grown (and weaned) lamb one day. Not hard to believe foxes could do that at all.
 
Oh yes. There's definitely big dark haired felines that are not of tabby descent round there ere parts. We have seen them, all of us on the farm at one time or another. Most of the time they are harmless, eating wild animals such as pigeon, little deer or muntjacs, squirrels and suchlike.

One winter, one of the ponies was attacked. Rug very clearly ripped, like cartoon claw marks. Bigger than a cats, smaller than a bears. Said pony cannot wear rugs, she goes absolutely wild if one goes near her now. Which is bizarre as she is in her 20s and wore rugs for most of those years. We tried to reintroduce her to rugs taking the slowly slowly approach and she will walk down the road with one... Bt not on her own, not in the valley.

I do believe the majority of kills are by foxes and probably big badgers but we know that the cat sometimes takes from us.
 
Surely (as it says the foal was born alive and put out in the field with mum later),, there would have been a hell of a commotion if something was chasing and killing foal? How long was a newborn unattended for.
 
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