Government experiments killing cattle in Western Canada?
Dead cows found on Alberta feedlot
PONOKA, ALTA. - Cold weather and a bad mixture of feed are being blamed for the deaths of more than 150 beef cattle on a feedlot that went into receivership in central Alberta.
Those who were in charge of feeding the cattle after the receiver took over didn't know what they were doing, according to a rancher who spoke to a local veterinarian.
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Rancher Jim McNall, who has 1,600 head of cattle at the feedlot, says it was too strong a mixture, which can cause a buildup of gas in a cow's stomach.
Dead and dying animals were found only a few days after a receiver took over the feedlot operation from owner Rick Bonnett.
Rancher Jessie Quast, who visited the farm on the weekend, said he noticed a lack of straw for bedding.
Bonnett told the Edmonton Journal the cattle were healthy when they were seized Jan. 5. The paper said the receivers Deloitte and Touche in Calgary have been unavailable for comment.
Bonnett said the farm had been in his family for three generations and was struggling after the BSE crisis ravaged the beef market.
[The "receivers" in this story is the CIBC Bank]
Similar case many years before suggests feed and weather not the culprit.
69 Cattle Mysteriously Drop
Dead In Canadian Pasture
From Ron Schmidt
8-27-00
SASKATOON (CP) - Nearly 70 cattle have dropped dead in a field in
south-central Saskatchewan and no one can figure out why. Lab tests have ruled
out all infectious diseases including anthrax, which has recently killed
several cattle in Manitoba. "It's perplexing, I think it's unlikely that we'll
ever know definitively," Dr. Eugene Janzen of the Western College of
Veterinary Medicine said Tuesday. "These catastrophic losses in one field are
very, very rare."
The dead cattle were found Friday [August 18, 2000] in a 120-hectare
communal pasture near Meyronne, a town of 47 people in south-central
Saskatchewan.
Another 150 cattle in the same field had no noticeable injuries or
illness. A team of veterinarians from the University of Saskatchewan visited
the site Monday and took specimens from 61 cows and eight calves.
They ruled out starvation since grass was plentiful in the field.
There was also plenty of water which originated from the same source as the
town drinking supply. Most of the dead animals were dehydrated, but Janzen
isn't sure why. Lightning sometimes kills several cattle at once if they are
huddled together, but the carcasses were scattered throughout the field. Foul
play or poisoning would also be nearly impossible to time so that all 69 died
on the same day, Janzen said. "There are not a whole lot of other
possibilities," he said.
Farmers Calvin Gavelin and Norm Bouvier, who each owned about 30 of
the dead cattle, say they have never seen anything like this before. "It's so
sad. It was a little like losing family," said Gavelin. "We don't know what's
happened out there, but we're relieved that no more cows are dying."
At $1,500 to $2,000 per cow, it's also a significant financial blow.
Neither farmer's insurance will cover the loss. Scott Brown of Saskatchewan
Agriculture said provincial assistance won't be considered until the
investigation is complete.
Veterinarians will continue their investigation but it's unclear
whether they will find any more clues. Janzen said the fact the cattle weren't
analysed until several days after their death makes things extremely
difficult.
"The evidence is a little bit like footprints in the snow," he said.
"The footprints have melted and we're trying to put together a story."