A family in the Rivers, Man., area is looking for answers after a cow was shot in the head not far from their house in thick fog.

Katie Hunter said her father, Colin, went out to feed the family's herd of 240 cows at their farm west of the town on Saturday afternoon and found a pregnant cow dead with a bullet hole through her eye.

"It's awful really," said Hunter. "Who does that? Who is shooting anything at this time of year on land that they're not supposed to?"

Area covered in thick fog

Because the carcass wasn't yet cold and stiff when it was found, Hunter believes the cow was shot sometime that morning — while the area was covered in a blanket of thick fog.

"You had a hard time seeing one hydro post to the next," she said. "It was very thick fog."

"There was no reason for anybody to be hunting in that weather."

Hunter had been planning to ride her horse around her parents' farm on Saturday but decided not to. The thought that she, or one of her two siblings, could have been caught in the cross-fire doesn't sit well with her.

"It's not an awesome feeling," she said, adding that the family has previously heard shots after dark near their farm.

"It sucks to think it's kind of a risk anytime I go riding in the bushes."

Hunter said her parents, who themselves hunt, do give people permission to hunt on their land from time to time, but often don't let others hunt on the land near their farm.

"In hunting season I don't even bother going riding," she said. "I trust no one."

Hunter believes the cow's death was no accident based on where the bullet hit.

"The chances of it being a stray bullet ... is slim but it is possible," Hunter said.

Family out $1,800

Hunter said the incident has put the family out about $1,800 plus the money they would have gotten for the calf when it was sent to market in 10 months.

While the family has a large number of animals in their herd and insurance will help them recoup some of the cost, she said it's still a noticeable chunk of money. A Facebook post her mom, Ann, made about the incident had more than 1,100 shares as of Monday evening.

Hunter has a message for whoever pulled the trigger.

"If it was an accident ... be honest enough to come forward and say 'you know what, I messed up,'" she said. "If it was a selfish act of 'oh I want to kill something,' you're just a very very shallow human."

Hunter said the family has lost animals due to wildlife attacks in the past, but this is the first time an animal has been killed in this way.

She said both RCMP and Manitoba Conservation were called about the incident. Conservation officers came to the farm to investigate and collect samples from the cow.