theglobeandmail.com
Birch Hills County, Alta. — Under a perfect blue sky, a group of grim-faced men loaded a farm's entire herd of cattle onto freight trucks here yesterday — sending them off to be slaughtered and tested for mad-cow disease.
The farm, located in rolling pasture just north of the Bad Heart River, was identified by a neighbour as being the site where tests recently detected Canada's first case of brain-wasting bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a decade. One other Alberta farm is under quarantine as is one in Saskatchewan.
While the cattle industry reels from the shock of the discovery, the farmer on the feedlot that is ground zero in the fight against mad-cow disease was hit the hardest when government officials confiscated his entire stock.
Stress showed in his stricken face as he ordered a handful of news reporters off his property, while nearby about 150 head of Angus cattle and calves were being loaded onto freight trucks. Within a few hours, his holding pens were stripped of every last cow and calf.
Driven aboard the truck by men wielding paddles, the cattle filled the air with their loud, plaintive calls. The sad, bleak sound stood in contrast to the quiet, determined way in which the men worked, while a group of women sat in the bucket of a front-end loader, watching.
Stephen Cosens, an official with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency who was overseeing the operation, refused to say what was happening at the remote farm.
"We're exercising our right to remove the animals," he said, declining to provide details or verify that the farm was where mad-cow disease was confirmed earlier this week.
"Right now our priority is to load these cattle," he said, as he escorted reporters off the property. "I can't say any more. The animals are being loaded up."
The farmer refused comment. He was identified by neighbours as Marwyn Peaster, an American who moved to the area two years ago and started raising cattle on the feedlot only last spring.
The big freight trucks rolled up one after another throughout the morning, trailing clouds of dust as they crossed the prairie. They were quickly loaded by a dozen people, some of whom wore protective white jumpsuits.
The trucks rocked as the bawling cattle kicked and shifted inside.
"It's devastating," said Chris Tschetter, a neighbour who runs 600 head of cattle, as he watched the convoy of trucks leave.
"What are we going to do?" said Mr. Tschetter with a fatalistic shrug. He said his cattle appear healthy and Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials haven't quarantined his farm.
He speculated that the other quarantined operations must be related to the cow that was stricken with mad-cow disease, which has been described as an eight-year-old animal.
"It must have had calves, and maybe that's what they are worried about," he said.
Like many in this rich agricultural Peace River region, Mr. Tschetter expressed the hope that the mad-cow case would prove to be an isolated one, and the scare would soon blow over.
"I think it's just this one herd here, maybe that one cow," he said as the last of the trucks vanished in the distance.
Nearby the farm had fallen silent. The stockyard was empty and dust devils swirled across the dry paddock where the animals had fed. There were rolls of hay outside the stockade and two dozen feed silos.
Across the Peace River country today, and in cattle country throughout Canada, beef producers such as Mr. Tschetter are struggling with a market that has suddenly ground to a halt.
"My heart just stopped when I heard the news," said Eldon McLachlan, as he stood near a pen holding about 150 yearlings, just south of Fairview, near the Hines Creek coulee.
Mr. McLachlan, who runs about 450 head, said some of his yearlings are ready to go to market and the rest will be ready by late fall. He doesn't know if he'll be able to sell any of them.
"There's $25,000 worth we were going to sell here in the near future and there is no market. By November, I'll have $150,000 worth ready to go. What if I can't sell then, either? Meanwhile, you've got to feed them every day. It just adds up in a hurry, and I've only got so much money in the bank."
Mr. McLachlan said he felt sorry for the farmer whose cow tested positive.
"The poor guy. I don't blame him for any of this," he said.
Mr. McLachlan said he hopes the government does a thorough investigation, tracks the cause of the infection, and is able to assure the public Alberta beef is safe once again.
"They have to confirm and find out all about this case. Make sure it is isolated . . . Let's find out how it happened. I eat this beef myself. Let's be damn sure. It's like the SARS outbreak. You have to handle it right. Let's get to the bottom of it, let's get it cleaned up and get on with life."
Walter Doll, who lives on a farm just outside Fairview, said he was fortunate not to have many cows at the moment. He used to run about 150 head, but currently has only five.
"It was an immense blow," he said. "It's devastating. We just have to work our way through it."
The mad-cow case is on everyone's mind here.
Gay Sebo, a retired farmer, and her friend, Bev Peterson, who works in a local market, were talking about mad-cow disease while they were out for an early morning walk.
"I worry about it big time," Ms. Sebo said.
"It's a shame they've closed the border [to cattle]," Ms. Peterson said. "This is going to hurt all of Canada."
Wilf Paul, a retired grain farmer, said he hoped the crisis would pass quickly.
"I don't think this will be a long-term problem," he said. "It's not like it's going to spread all over the place from hand to mouth and everything. I hope this case can be isolated, and we can get beyond this."
Back at the Peaster farmstead, a television satellite truck was pulling up. |
