Alberta RCMP are investigating after dozens of animals were brutally beaten and killed on a rural farm.
Pat Lucas told Global News she found more than 20 of her animals dead on her farm just outside Raymond Tuesday morning.
At first she thought it might have been the work of a coyote or other wild animal, but it soon became clear the deaths were at the hands of a human.
"I’m having a really rough time dealing with it. To think why someone would come in and do it," Lucas told the news network.
Police told Country 95 they think a suspect or suspects entered an enclosed area where chickens, ducks and rabbits are kept.
"At some point, somebody — it appears — took a shovel or a rake and struck these animals," said Sgt. Kelly McCoy.
Lucas told the Lethbridge Herald that her dog, a chihuahua named Dodger, was also beaten to the point where one of his eyes now bulges out of his head.
"It was just the vicious way they did it," she said. "We don’t sleep very good at night. I leave the windows open. I just think these people have got to be mentally deranged."
Police say they do not have any suspects at the moment, but are investigating. They advise farm owners to limit animal access to the public or put up security cameras.
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