Illegally exporting cattle to U.S. alleged

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This article was published 22/02/2012 (5168 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BRANDON — A Neepawa veterinarian and the owners of several livestock operations in Neepawa and Brandon face charges of illegally exporting cattle from Canada to the United States between February 2008 and August 2009.

The charges fall under the Health of Animals Act and the Health of Animals Regulations and come after a two-year investigation by the federal Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Court documents obtained by the Brandon Sun allege possibly hundreds of cattle were illegally and intentionally exported in breach of U.S. and Canadian regulations.

“The wrongful certification of the age of cattle and the export of these animals are serious offences,” CFIA area investigation specialist Shirlee Sigurdson said in information used to obtain a search warrant in April 2010. “These actions have the potential to cause serious disruptions to the export of Canadian cattle to the U.S. and to cause widespread harm to the cattle industry.”

The search-warrant documents state the CFIA’s investigation began in January 2009 after a load of 42 cattle was refused entry to the U.S. at the Emerson border crossing on Jan. 21 that year. A CFIA inspection manager for eastern Manitoba claimed the U.S. Department of Agriculture rejected the load after the discovery of a downer cow on the trailer.

A downer cow is one that, upon examination, is unable to rise on its own, possibly due to trauma or disease.

A copy of a veterinary health certificate with a CFIAàletterhead, which was obtained by the Sun through the provincial court office in Winnipeg, states the name of the exporter was J. Quintaine & Son of Brandon, the physical location of the export premises was Mowat Livestock of Neepawa and the load was destined for Long Prairie Packing in Minnesota.

Dr. Fawcett George Taylor of Brydges & Taylor Veterinary Clinic in Neepawa signed the export certificate indicating he examined the cattle on Jan. 21, 2009.

In 2003, the U.S. government banned all imports of Canadian cattle after the discovery of a single cow infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The U.S. eventually relaxed the ban to allow cattle under the age of 30 months in 2005 and then again in 2007 to animals born after March 1, 1999.

To meet these new import requirements, the Canadian government passed regulations that required all cattle destined for the U.S. to be identified with a unique ear tag and examined by a qualified veterinarian for age, sex and breed verification.

According to the search-warrant documents, the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency tag number on the alleged downer cow suggested the animal would have been 10 months old at the time of export. However, in a statement under oath, Sigurdson notes a report by a Manitoba Agriculture pathologist claimed the teeth were consistent with those of an older animal between 10 and 15 years-plus.

CFIA investigators obtained warrants in April 2010 and searched the premises of Brydges & Taylor Veterinary Hospital Ltd., Mowat Livestock Ltd., D.A.M. Cattle Buyers Ltd. and J. Quintaine & Son Ltd., located in the rural municipalities of Elton and Lanford and the town of Neepawa, on April 21. RCMP from Brandon and Neepawa assisted.

Investigators seized dozens of boxes of information, including purchase summaries, log books, CCIA birth records, invoices, cheque stubs, load sheets, veterinary health certificates, letters, customer lists, bank statements, USB adapters, memory cards and several computer towers and laptops.

Based on the CFIA’s investigation, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada approved charges relating to the inaccurate recording of the ages of cattle that were exported or destined for export to the U.S.

In an email to the Sun last week, the CFIA confirmed Taylor has been charged with refusing or neglecting to perform a duty imposed on him under Section 34 of the Health of Animals Act as an accredited CFIA veterinarian. Taylor, Mowat Livestock Ltd., D.A.M. Cattle Buyers Ltd., Douglas Adam Mowat and Donna Michelle Mowat have been charged with exporting a number of cattle that did not meet U.S. import requirements, in contravention of subsection 69(1)(b) of the Health of Animals Regulations.

Brandon-based J. Quintaine & Son Ltd., P. Quintaine & Son Ltd. and James Harold Quintaine have been charged with exporting a number of cattle that did not meet U.S. import requirements, in contravention of subsection 69(1)(b) of the Health of Animals Regulations.

None of these charges has been proven in court and all parties are presumed innocent.

The next court date is scheduled for March 6.

mgoerzen@brandonsun.com