Within the past month, there have been three instances in which the Murray State Police have been notified of calves outside of the fences at the West Farm on College Farm Road.
On Aug. 30, a caller reported a calf on his property near the West Farm, on Sept. 9, a caller reported a calf roaming outside of Calloway County High School and on Sept. 17, a caller reported a calf loose on the road..
Only two of these instances involved Murray State livestock. Tony Brannon, dean of the Hutson School of Agriculture, said his office had received several calls regarding a neighbor near the Expo Center, who chooses to tie a jersey calf and other farm animals by the road to graze.
“Some people think that these animals are ours but they are not,” he said. “We have had several people stop in to tell us about these animals, but we have no relationship to those animals.”
Brannon said the instances where University livestock were involved were normal “day in the life of a farm” type experiences.
In one instance, a 55-pound newborn calf lay down next to a fence and stood up on the other side of it. The calf was returned to its pen quickly.
On the other instance, the electric fence shorted out and one calf made its way through the fence. A high school student saw it happen and Brannon was notified.
The fence was repaired immediately and that calf too was returned safely to its pen.