In a remote village in Southwest Qianxinan, Guizhou Province, a livestock farmer borrowed a total of 400,000 yuan in loans to raise cattle, only to suffer significant losses with the deaths of 37 cows over the years 2022 and 2025. Shockingly, in December of last year, 20 cows perished in a single day. Police investigations revealed the presence of fluoride ions in the remains of some of the dead cows.
Despite the passage of 9 months since the incidents, the authorities have yet to release any findings from their investigations. The farmer suspects foul play, believing that his cattle were deliberately poisoned. With no agricultural insurance to cushion the financial blow of losing the cows and still facing the burden of repaying the 400,000 yuan loan, the farmer is now under immense pressure from the bank’s collection efforts.
According to a report by “Cover News,” Wei Tianjin, a livestock farmer from Wachang Village in Zhenfeng County, Guizhou Qianxinan Prefecture, recounted the distressing events of losing a total of 37 cows in 2022 and 2025.
On December 24, 2025, 20 of Wei Tianjin’s Simmental cows collapsed and died one after another. These cows weighed around seven to eight hundred catties each, with another cow perishing the next day, bringing the total to 21 deceased cows. Only two calves remained untouched in the cattle pen without consuming the tainted grass.
Wei Tianjin expressed suspicion that the consistent symptoms of the cows’ deaths suggested foul play, possibly through the poisoning of the livestock’s feed. His nephew, who witnessed the events unfold, speculated that there might have been contamination in the grass. He reasoned, “If it was a disease, it wouldn’t have caused so many deaths at once.”
Wei Tianjin’s son shared the same suspicions of intentional poisoning, suggesting that the toxic substance could have been sprinkled on the grass, and he didn’t rule out the involvement of acquaintances, though he did not disclose further details to the media. The surveillance equipment at their home was damaged during the incident and failed to capture the scene.
A village official from Wachang Village remarked to “Cover News” that the repeated mass deaths of Wei Tianjin’s cattle were indeed peculiar, as no other livestock farmer in the village had experienced similar circumstances.
As per official documents provided by Wei Tianjin, the Zhenfeng County Public Security Bureau filed a case involving “suspicion of disrupting production and operation” on January 6, 2026. The forensic analysis report issued by the public security agency revealed the presence of fluoride ions in samples taken from 21 dead cows.
Sodium fluoroacetate, to which fluoride ions belong, is classified as a nationally restricted pesticide, and official records label it as a highly toxic rodenticide. The police report identified “fluoride ions” in the samples, but as of now, the source of the toxin and whether intentional poisoning occurred have not been publicly disclosed.
Sodium fluoroacetate is a complete chemical substance (a salt), while fluoride ions are charged particles that result from its dissolution or ionization in water within the body of humans or animals who accidentally ingest sodium fluoroacetate.
More than 8 months have passed as of September 24. Attempts by reporters from “Cover News” to contact the Zhenfeng County Public Security Bureau were met with reluctance to divulge details due to the ongoing investigation, leading to the abrupt termination of phone conversations. Officials from the Changtian Town government confirmed the incident but declined to provide specific information regarding the case.
Wei Tianjin shared that in order to run his cattle farm, he had taken out loans totaling 400,000 yuan from the bank, some of which were used to purchase calves. Without agricultural insurance, and burdened with the loss of two sets of cattle, he is still shackled by the debt and faces pressure from the bank’s collection activities.