A spokesman with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department said there is no cause for concern following the discovery of nine dead cows near Six Mile Creek Park Wednesday night.

Chief Deputy Randy Pugh said the community had no cause for alarm after his office spoke with the cows’ owner. Pugh declined to release the owner’s name.

Sgt. David Odom found the cows Wednesday evening after receiving a call from dispatch. Upon reaching a bridge on Kings Bend Road, Odom saw marks on the bridge.

Portions of King Bend Road were closed on Thursday, but Pugh noted they were reopened after the cows’ owner had been interviewed. The area was quarantined briefly at the direction of the Alabama Department of Public Health, but the quarantine has since been lifted.

Members of Pugh’s department and the Fourth Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office are expected to meet today to discuss possible criminal charges and restitution because of the dead cows.

According to Pugh, county employees are scheduled to remove the cows today, although their ultimate destination hasn’t yet been determined.

State law requires the cows be either burned or buried.