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200 cows die in bitter cold
No one looking after animals after foreclosure

The Canadian Press

January 10, 2005

PONOKA, Alta. -- In a scene that sickened even the most experienced cattle producers, up to 200 beef cattle were found dead on the weekend on a central Alberta feedlot seized last week by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

"There are 150 to 200 dead right now and there will be that much more in the next day or so," said rancher Jessie Quastay as he walked among dead cattle frozen stiff and live ones so weak they couldn't lift their heads.

"It's horrible. It's sickening. It's disgusting. I've never seen anything like this before."

The animals were found only a few days after a receiver took over the 10,000-head feedlot operation from owner Rick Bonnett.

A local veterinarian blamed the feed, said rancher Jim McNall.

"He said it was too strong a mixture," he said. "It was overloaded. Those who were in charge of feeding them didn't know what they were doing."

Cattle in feedlots being fattened for market are fed a mixture of hay, barley and other grains. Too rich a mixture can cause a buildup of gas in their stomachs, producing bloating and death.

Quast said the condition is aggravated by cold weather.

"There's no one here taking care of them," he said, as snow built up on cows, bunched together in -20 C temperatures. "There should be straw for bedding but there's not. They're just lying on the cold ground and dying."

Local farmers said they called the Alberta SPCA but couldn't find anyone on the weekend. They also called receivers Deloitte and Touche but couldn't get an answer.

Bonnett said the cattle were healthy on Wednesday.

Yesterday, four employees of Cattleland Feedyards Ltd. were at the lot, looking after the surviving animals.