A New Hampshire farmer is outraged after her beloved dairy cow was fatally shot by an unknown culprit. Lisa Ilsley found the cow, named “Cookie,” with a gunshot wound to the abdomen on Sunday, Oct. 30, she said in a Facebook post. A single red circle in Cookie’s brown fur shows where she was hit. “Cookie suffered in pain all day,” Ilsley said. “We did everything we could to save her. With heavy hearts, we laid her to rest this evening.”
The Ilsley farm is in Weare, about 15 miles southwest of Concord. Aside from selling raw milk and cream to visitors, the family owns and operates an ice cream shop that is, according to some surveys, the “best in New Hampshire.” Who pulled the trigger is as much a mystery as why. But Ilsley suspects a “careless hunter” is responsible, she said.
“You must have skipped hunter safety classes, where they teach you to be absolutely sure of your target. I sit here tonight wondering how you could possibly mistake a 1,200 lb cow for a deer,” Ilsley said. “Because of your carelessness, we have not only lost our best cow in our milking herd, but also the calf she was carrying.” Cookie’s calf was due Dec. 31 and would have been named “Crumb.”
Ilsley’s post has been met with an outpouring of support, shared over 2,400 times as of Nov. 2, with commenters offering sympathy and clamoring for justice. The state Fish and Game Department’s Law Enforcement Division recently shared the post as well. “Despite all of this, even if just a simple mistake, I’m conflicted why you couldn’t own up to your mistake and come forward,” Ilsley said.
She believes Cookie was shot in the morning or afternoon on Oct. 30.