LYON COUNTY, Iowa – The Lyon County Sheriff’s Dept. currently is investigating the poisoning of approximately 100 head of cattle. The department said the deaths are the result of high levels of lead in the animals’ systems. Forty animals already have died, and many others are very sick.

Someone threw a tractor battery inside a feeder wagon for the cattle. “The lead is believed to have been mixed in with their feed on Sunday morning, Oct. 9, 2016,” the agency said in a bulletin posted to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Dept. web site.

The cattle owner, Joel Moser, has a cattle operation near Alvord, Iowa. He said results from tests conducted at Iowa State Univ. show the cattle were poisoned with lead. Moser owns more than 100 head of cattle. There are no suspects in the case, and law enforcement is encouraging other farmers in the area to be cautious.