A farming family in north-eastern Victoria is looking for answers after Ferrari, their beloved bull, was shot between the eyes during an alleged illegal spotlighting activity.
It is part of a worrying trend, according to police.
Kate Berg of Jamieson said she and her husband regularly checked on their small Hereford herd.
But on the morning of December 13, the local service station called to say passers-by saw a dead cow in their paddock.
Ferrari had been shot between the eyes, sometime after December 9.
"We were in shock, to say the least," Ms Berg said.
"It was very hard to believe.
"He's not only a breeding bull but he's really part of the family — we treat him as a pet.
"My husband hand-feeds him and the kids hand-feed him."
Ms Berg said the violence of Ferrari's death was disturbing.
"To know that he had died was one thing that was really upsetting, but to know that he had died in such a tragic way really shook us up," she said.
Now the community at Jamieson and surrounding towns are on alert.
Ms Berg said spotlighters were prominent in the area, but it had shaken the whole town to hear of livestock allegedly targeted.
"For him to have a shot directly between his eyes basically, there's not really any other sort of explanation we can come up with," she said.
Victoria Police is investigating the incident at Jamieson.
Frequent reports of 'ridiculous behaviour'
Mansfield Police Sergeant Mark Ross said illegal spotlighting was common and widespread in the region.
It happens mainly at night, making it "very difficult" to police.
"It's really a matter of being in the right spot at the right time," Sergeant Ross said.
He said it "absolutely" posed a risk to public safety.
"We've had people ring up that have actually heard bullets going past them while they've been out in their gardens," Sergeant Ross said.
He said police had received reports of people shooting from the road and across properties, and hitting houses as well as livestock.
"We get people ringing up who've had deer shot on their front lawns, and the offenders come and chop the head off or take the antlers ... and leave the rest of the body just laying there," Sergeant Ross said.
He said it was "ridiculous behaviour" that happened "far too often" and offenders faced huge penalties if caught.
An Australian Deer Association spokesperson said they strongly condemned illegal spotlighting and fully supported the Game Management Authority's efforts to stamp it out.
Loss of life and future income
The Berg family was preparing to breed its small herd the week of Ferrari's death.
"Ironically, or sadly, I'm not sure how you want to look at it, he was actually due to go out with our heifers on the Wednesday [after he died]," Ms Berg said.
"Not only have we lost part of our family, [but] that's [also] put a bit of a halt to our breeding season for next year."
Ms Berg implored anyone with information about the incident to contact Victoria Police or Crimestoppers.
"Unfortunately, we don't have any leads at the moment," Ms Berg said.
"Hopefully Ferrari's death won't be in vain and we can do something about it."
