3. Many believe the FBI’s lack of findings in the animal mutilations to be conspiratorial
In 1980 the RCMP described the mutilations in Canada to be the work of a pseudo-religious cult, adding to the conspiracy theories in the United States. Nonetheless, the FBI, citing the reports of findings by veterinarians, animal behavior specialists, and other experts both federal and local found nothing to support nefarious activities. Nor did it find any evidence pointing to the involvement of extraterrestrials. Instead, it pointed out that several natural predators, including foxes and coyotes, possess teeth capable of making incisive bites which resemble a surgical cut. They also exhibit the natural tendency to focus on the soft tissue available without having to struggle through the tough hides of the dead cattle. In the lack of any evidence to the contrary, they closed the investigation, though they did not issue a formal finding that the “mutes” were the result of nature taking its course.
The lack of a finding, and the tendency of many conspiracists to distrust the government in all things, led to the continuing belief in a government cover-up. That belief continues to this day. Officially, the FBI regarded the mutilations of the 1970s to be in the realm of unexplained phenomena, and it is so regarded in the bureau’s vaults today. Copies of correspondence regarding the investigation, newspaper clippings, and reports of scientists and researchers can all be viewed in the FBI’s files. As recently as 2019, reports of animal mutilations continued, and many continue to speculate on the role of extraterrestrials, Satanic cults, the federal government, and the FBI regarding them. The FBI files on the 1970s investigation were made available to the public in 2010, and can be viewed online today on the bureau’s website here.