Lightning Strike Kills Nine Cows In Irish Field

WARNING: This article contains images that you may find distressing

Nine cows have died after a lightning bolt struck a farm in Ireland.

A passing motorist told the Irish Examiner, they were driving along when they spotted the animals lying with their 'legs in the air', following severe storms in Dunlicky, County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.

A weather warning was in place for most of the country, with concerns for localised flooding due to heavy rainfall, as well as thunderstorms and hail.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, a passerby who saw the cows said: "Just after we passed Dunlicky Castle we saw the cows in the field.

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"There were a few cars and men in there as well. I think it was nine milking cows we counted.

"They are all lying dead in the field some with their legs in the air."

It's believed the cows were electrocuted by lightning strikes which hit Ireland across the weekend.

Describing the storms, one resident told the news outlet: "There was a lot of thunderstorm activity in the area at the time and the sky blackened all of a sudden. The rain was pouring down really heavy for about 20 minutes."

Elsewhere, the storms left around 9,000 people without power, according to the Independent.

A spokesperson from ESB Networks said: "Due to significant lightning last night [Saturday] we have a number of faults, mainly in the south of the country."

Met Éireann has warned that there could be further storms in the coming days.

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It is not yet clear who the cows belonged to or the exact number that were killed or injured.

However, this isn't the first time lightning has killed cows in Ireland- just last year, eight cows were killed during a storm in Moneygall.

Meanwhile, in Texas last September, 23 cows died after a thunderstorm. Shocked rancher Bobby Woody III shared heart-wrenching footage of the dead cows on social media, writing: "When the lightning hit, it had such strong voltage, it basically jolted one cow in the middle of the field."

Woody wrote that it was one of the 'wildest and craziest' things he'd ever witnessed.

Topics: Ireland, Animals

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19