A sheep breeder’s dream that turned to nightmare
Rockland purebred breeder Sophie Bernard ‘was doing everything right,’ until first Coccidiosis struck and then the OSPCA came calling – with disastrous results

by ROBERT IRWIN

Sophie Bernard says she first dreamed of starting a high-health flock of purebred sheep in 2000, while working on the Farm Disaster Relief Program for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) in Stratford.

Five years, later her dream became a nightmare when the Cornwall branch of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) came calling, precipitating a series of events that will likely drive her out of business altogether.

Bernard chose sheep because she lacked the cash needed for highly capitalized alternatives like conventional pork, beef, grain or dairy. Her prospects were strengthened by her B.Sc. in agriculture from Nova Scotia Agricultural College (Dalhousie University) and an M.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan.

About five years ago, Bernard moved from Stratford to a job in Ottawa with Statistics Canada’s Farm Expenses Unit. Then she bought a 112-acre farm near Rockland, about 20 kilometres east of Ottawa, using off-farm income to begin a part-time sheep operation that promised to be self-sustaining within seven years.

She chose Rideau Arcotts, a highly prolific breed developed by Agriculture Canada and released to the farming community in 1980. Central to Bernard’s goal was her animals’ elite health status, which she spent thousands of dollars to attain. “I was going to be the only elite health breeder in eastern Ontario,” explains Bernard, who currently serves as a committee member of the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency’s (OSMA) zone 10.

Her flock was certified under the Ontario Sheep Health Program and given an “A” rating, the highest of five levels in the Maedi-Visna Flock Status Pilot Project. Maedi-Visna is a lifetime pneumonia caused by a retro virus. A 1988 survey of Ontario flocks showed that 69.9 per cent were affected by the disease, which causes permanent wasting in affected animals. The “A” rating meant that Bernard complied with the program’s bio-security requirements and that, after three lab tests of her entire flock as well as one partial test, the disease was not present.

The flock was also tested for, and found to be free of, Caseous lymphadenitis, a bacterial disease that also causes wasting as well as lumps which result in carcass condemnations at slaughter. Her flock was also tested for, and found free of, Johnes, a chronic form of enteritis, and Scrapie, another wasting disease.

In the early years, Bernard’s Rideau Arcotts were so prolific, says OSMA director Fred Baker, who farms in Mountain, south of Ottawa, that she bought a $6,500 German automatic milk dispensing system. “She was so concerned that the animals weren't getting enough. She was doing everything right."

Over a year ago, Bernard was slowed by back problems and then, in 2005, with nearly five years of successful production under her belt, her lamb mortality began to rise -- triggered she says, by Coccidiosis, a common parasite.

On Oct 25, the day she left for a two-week visit to her native New Brunswick, she hired a local unemployed man to clean up the carcasses. The next day he called the OSPCA. Bernard says that another neighbour she left to oversee things was powerless to deal with what followed.

Rams on the loose
Animal owners who feel wronged are often willing to detail their grievances but one of the difficulties in reporting these situations is that the OSPCA says it’s against their policy to comment.

OSPCA inspector Bonnie Bishop, who has made frequent visits to the farm, almost certainly sees things differently than Bernard, but says she can’t discuss “an ongoing investigation,” so Bernard’s version of some events is all that’s available. At some pint during Bernard’s absence, her rams, which had been segregated, were released into the ewe population. Bernard blames the OSPCA.

“I don’t know who fathered what,” Bernard complains.

She pegs the resulting lost sale of purebred animals, after subtracting meat value, at around $18,000.And she worries that the OSPCA intrusion could have compromised her biosecurity, too. Her biggest fear, however, is that the ewes, which were scheduled to be bred for June lambing on pasture, are now doomed to lamb during March and April, something for which her aging, uninsulated barn isn’t suited.

When she returned from New Brunswick on Nov.3, Bernard claims Bishop asked her to sign a document. Bernard doesn’t have a copy of Bishop’s document and admits she is unclear about the contents, but she thinks that, had she signed it, the OSPCA would have gained ownership of her flock.

Bishop refers all questions to her supervisor, Connie Mallory, who declines to comment on specific cases. Mallory indicated, however, that the only document she’s aware of that an OSPCA inspector would invite an animal owner to sign is a “voluntary surrender form, if they (the animal owner) were reaching out for help.” Mallory emphasizes that the OSPCA would never pressure anyone to sign the form and its purpose is to help people who don’t want to continue feeding or caring for their animals.

Regardless of any confusion surrounding that document, Bernard was served with an OSPCA order on Nov. 3. OSPCA agents can issue orders without having to consult a judge or anyone else. The order specifies what the agent wants an animal owner to do well as the time allowed to comply.

On Nov. 13, Bernard was given two hours to have a vet examine her flock, paying special attention to two lame animals. She was also required to provide a written report from the vet with details of the examination and treatment.

As stressful as her initial encounter with the OSPCA was, Bernard says that pales in comparison to the weekly incursions to which Bishop has subjected her ever since. “The OSPCA were threatening to seize my sheep, they wanted me to sell my sheep,” Bernard relates.

Accusations of harassment
On Nov.17, Vankleek Hill veterinarian Glen S. Collard issued a letter attesting to the fact that Bernard had complied with all deficiencies that he had identified at the time the order was issued. He had directed that four improvements be carried out: that Bernard clean the feed area, remove dead sheep, spread lime and scrape the exterior barn area.

Since the OSPCA won’t comment it’s not clear why they continued to return to Bernard’s farm following Collard’s letter.

On Jan. 4, Toronto lawyer Andrea Hoppe, acting for Bernard, wrote to the Animal Care Review Board (ACRB). Hoppe noted Collard’s report and requested that the Nov. 3 OSPCA order be revoked. Bernard says there has been no response.

On Jan. 24, Bernard hired Ottawa lawyer Russell Laing who wrote the ACRB on her behalf. He accused Bishop of harassment and threatened her or any other agent with prosecution for trespass if the weekly inspections continued without a written explanation. Board counsel Kinan Kubursi responded to Laing on Feb.13 indicating that the ACRB is powerless to act unless “an appeal or revocation of an order,” is being sought.

Mallory, who herself has worked on a dairy farm and supervises about 25 full- and part-time agents from Northumberland to the Quebec border, feels her agents are competent to handle farm cases, but she says the OSPCA needs government money. She says that, for one thing, this would allow quicker responses when complaints are received. Mallory says funding would lead to more inspectors and that would allow OSPCA to “become proactive rather than reactive.”

Meanwhile, Bernard has had to put her flock up for sale. Losses from last year’s lamb deaths were a major setback, but she says she can’t afford the lost purebred revenues caused by the incident with the rams or the unplanned lambings in March and April. “I’m out of business, they ruined everything for me.” BF