Police investigating after two sheep shot, one killed at community pasture in Farmington

FARMINGTON, Utah — The owner of a community pasture in Farmington found a second sheep with a gunshot wound Friday, leaving her and others there to fear somebody is out there looking to harm animals. 

Martha Felt said she previously discovered a sheep named Emmett dead with two gunshot wounds on Wednesday. 

“It was just a really, really awful sight to see,” said Felt. “There’s young families that come down here, there’s kids that come down here, and this is just scary that this happened here.”

Felt called Farmington Police Friday evening when she showed up to the pasture for an interview with KSL about the death of Emmett and discovered the second sheep, Kimberly, with a gunshot wound. 

“Right as we came down, we noticed one of the sheep was laying down and (we) ran over there and she had been shot as well,” Felt said. “She was lethargic, she was laying down and the wound where she had been shot was open. It’s bloated, she’s septic.”

Felt said it was unclear why anyone would do such a thing.

Jenny Bunch, the owner of Emmett, was equally beside herself over the loss of such a “sweet, sweet animal.”

“I brought him to this pasture because I thought it was a safe place for him,” she said. “If he were here right now, he would be snuggling on you, rubbing on you.”

Felt said the animals at the pasture had also helped troubled children.

“We have wonderful, healing, healing animals here that really help kids that have problems,” Felt said. “The ponies do therapy for people, older individuals and children who have problems — either physically or just not feeling like they fit in. The kids — they feel alive here and don’t feel judged here.”

Bunch and Felt said they believed whoever would do such a thing is “not of right mind.”

Bunch noted the recent shooting of a pony in Southern Utah in suggesting that perhaps somebody out there may be traveling, or may have traveled, while shooting animals along the way.

“Anybody who comes and (has) an intention to kill innocent sheep is not of sound mind,” Felt said. “They really do need to be found and this does need to stop. I don’t want this to happen to anybody else.

Felt encouraged others in the area to look carefully at their farm animals.

“If you do have livestock and one of your animals is acting funny, please look them over and see if they have been shot,” Felt said. “If they have, maybe we have a bigger problem here than we are aware.”

Anybody with information was asked to contact Farmington Police Department at 801-451-5453.