WARNING - THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
A farmer has described her 'heartache' after finding her one-month old calf with a crossbow arrow punctured through its lung.
The calf was put to sleep at the scene following the incident, which happened in Warwickshire over the weekend.
A four-month-old calf was also shot in its hindquarters but is expected to survive.
The incident happened just off Burnthurst Lane, Princethorpe and is believed to have occurred sometime between 7pm on Saturday and 10am on Sunday.
Farmer Megan Stephens posted the grim news on Facebook, describing how it has left the calf's mother and the farm with 'so much heartache'.
The post has received over 5,000 comments and 8,000 shares.
The police have issued an appeal after receiving a report that the two calves had been shot with a suspected crossbow.
Warwickshire Police called the attack 'despicable'.
Carol Cotterill, Rural Crime Officer said: “We are particularly interested in hearing from anyone who was in the area over the weekend and saw anything suspicious.
“We take these types of incidents extremely seriously and we are urging the public to be vigilant. We will be carrying out a thorough investigation and plan to have patrols in place around where the incident occurred.”
Anyone with information should contact Warwickshire Police on 101 quoting incident 128 of 23 June 2019. Alternatively information can be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
