Vandals set hundreds of cows loose at Maine dairy farm and 1 dies

A cow broke its neck and died last week after vandals let it and hundreds of other cows out of their pens at the Misty Meadow Farm and also vandalized the Wright Place Farm. Sometime between 2 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., about 500 milking cows were released from their pens. Roy said those cows were discovered by the next shift of workers arriving at the farm. All told there are 1,500 cows on the farm, Roy said. One of the cows that was released fell into a drainage hole and broke its neck. Workers at the farm also discovered that stainless steel cooling tanks for milk and cream had been turned off.  It was also discovered that two headlights from a farm truck in the garage had been stolen, as had some meat from a freezer in the garage. A pellet or BB gun was also stolen, which probably was used to shoot out a window from a nearby tractor.