St. Paul Journal article on Fields of Fear

Belzil featured on Space channel
Cattle mutilation investigator shares story
By Janice Poitras
Journal Staff

Local cattle mutilation investigator Fern Belzil is set to appear on the well known Space channel in mid-September, but even Belzil has yet to see the documentary that filmmakers began filming nearly one year ago.

"I get asked every day when it’s going to show," says Belzil, about the upcoming documentary. He adds that if there is enough interest, he is considering organizing a public showing of the film in St. Paul.

On Sept. 15 at 8 p.m., Fields of Fear, created by filmmaker Paul Kimball, will be premiering on Space: The Imagination Station.

For the past nine years, Belzil has been investigating suspicious cattle mutilations throughout western Canada. He has even gone as far as Halifax and Vancouver to speak about the topic.

"I don’t fool around," says Belzil about his unique job, "I tell them what it is."

The local investigator lives just minutes away from St. Paul on the same ranch where he and his family used to raise purebred registered Hereford cattle. Belzil’s experience with cattle is what originally got him involved in investigating the mysterious cattle mutilations.

Belzil admits that one thing that certainly separates him from other people in similar fields is that he does not say aliens are the cause of the mutilations. The reason is simply, "because I don’t know. I never lie," he says. He does acknowledge that some of the mutilations have been very strange.

So far, this year Belzil has been called out to five mutilations, although only one has been an authentic case. Just last week he received a call from North Battleford reporting a mutilation and two weeks prior he visited a suspected mutilation in Dewberry.

While the Red Star filmmakers visited Belzil they spent time filming various aspects of the mutilations Belzil investigates. They also filmed the slide-show presentation Belzil shows along with other various activities.

"A lot of (the documentary) is about me," says Belzil. "It’s a little bit about my life."

The mutilation investigator has also been part of a National Geographic film, a Life documentary and he has appeared on Fifth Estate.