Dead Scandinavian Cows
A total of eight dead cows have been found on Scandinavian beaches since December 2013 The Associated Press

Scandinavian police were left bewildered as almost a dozen cow carcasses were washed ashore in Denmark and Sweden.

Since 29<sup>th December, beachgoers in the Scandinavian countries have spotted a total of eight dead cows sprawled among the sand.

Three were spotted in Denmark, while the remaining five were found on a beach in southern Sweden.

Even more bizarrely, upon closer inspection it became clear that all of the animals had parts of their ears cut off. Investigators suspect this was done to remove the identification tags used to trace the animals.

Reasons as to why and how the cows came to appear on the shore remain unclear. However, on Thursday Danish and Swedish police suggested that the cows had probably been thrown overboard from a ship in the Baltic Sea.

Given that disgarding of livestock in this manner is illegal in both countries, the Scandinavian authorities are currently investigating all livestock transportation that may have passed between the two Scandinavian countries in the last few weeks to find the culprit ship.

It remains unclear whether the cows were thrown overboard in Danish, Swedish or international waters.