Are you sure it wasn't deer, rabbits, or some other four legged critter?

I'm pretty sure. These are very clean cuts. I find it highly unlikely that animals make cuts like this.

I would suspect deer they make a cut like that. Deer usually leave a slight angle to the branch they bite off.

I've noticed squirrels also tip prune trees, usually on the upper branches, though. In fact, imo squirrels are probably a major reason trees have such nice bushy canopies.

Yes deer will make a bunch of clean cuts usually up to about five foot. They can also make some that are not. once all the trees are pruned they will stand up and go higher. They will only do that if there isn't food elsewhere. They wont work any harder than they have to.

It probably wasn't a person- they would have taken off the water sprouts high in the tree, rather than the low buds.

I've got the same problem on several trees, except none are over about 2 feet high. My guess would be rabbits, as I found the poop in the area. Earlier today, my father saw the sharp, clean angled cuts and said it looks just like what the deer did to him, except his damage extends up about 4+ feet and is far more severe.

My damage wasn't so bad- they just thinned out the spurs a bit, so I won't need to thin the blossoms as much.

Picture always helps.

Another vote for rabbits.

I thought the same thing a few years back when many blackberry canes were cut near the ground ... not vandalism, however.

Rabbits make a perfectly clean, 45 degree cut. Every small branch within 2' of the ground around here is cut cleanly by those critters after this winter.

yeah, sounds like rabbits, and if humans, better that they steal those and make their own rather than steal your fruits later on. :)