Thu | Apr 25, 2024

Holy cow!

• Urgent mission on to save 400 starving animals at Windalco • Company could be sanctioned for ill-treatment

Published:Sunday | January 29, 2023 | 1:45 AMChristopher Serju - Senior Sunday Gleaner Writer
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An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
Contributed
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
Contributed
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
Contributed
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
An estimated 400 heifers and calves were found starving, some dying, at the Windalco property in Kirkvine, Manchester.
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Urgent plans have been activated in a desperate bid to save the lives of an estimated 400 starving heifers and calves, which were recently discovered at the Kirkvine, Manchester property of the UC Rusal-owned West Indies Alumina Company (Windalco...

Urgent plans have been activated in a desperate bid to save the lives of an estimated 400 starving heifers and calves, which were recently discovered at the Kirkvine, Manchester property of the UC Rusal-owned West Indies Alumina Company (Windalco).

The state of affairs was brought to the attention of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, which dispatched a team to the location last Thursday to assess the situation. Team members were drawn from the Veterinary Services Division and the Jamaica Dairy Development Board (JDDB). Officers from the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (JSPCA) also visited the location.

Immediately after their assessment, an emergency plan was engaged to get fodder and nutrients to the malnourished animals, several of which are dying from starvation.

Video footage and photographs obtained by The Sunday Gleaner show the emaciated animals, which appear to have been starving and deprived of sustenance and care for an extended period.

“We are incensed by the apparent ill-treatment of these animals. We dispatched a team to immediately investigate and prepare a case for the laying of charges against the company, as well as to seize and relocate these animals for medical and other care, as may be necessary,” an angry ministry official who visited the property told The Sunday Gleaner. “JSPCA went there the same day we went, but were not allowed access. So we went up there with our full force and went in.”

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries has summoned the executives of UC Rusal to a 10 a.m. meeting on Monday to explain what happened to the animals under their care.

“This is just alarming,” said the ministry official, who did not want to be identified because he was not authorised to speak on the issue.

WINDALCO’S LONG HISTORY OF CATTLE FARMING

Windalco has had a long history of having one of the best local beef and dairy cattle farms, alongside its bauxite operations. At one stage, the company’s livestock venture was spread across two parishes – its JJ Gagnon dairy pasture in Manchester and Alderton in St Ann – which, up to 2018, had a combined total of 3,300 head of cattle. Its milk output for 2017 was 2.2 million litres, which made it then the second-largest milk producer in the country.

Over the years, the company was forced to spend about $13 million per annum to secure its farms as a result of praedial larceny, which continued to have a crippling effect on the profitability of its agricultural operation.

In February 2018, thieves stole seven Jamaica Hope (dairy) calves valued at $84,000 from the Manchester property and even though the company offered a reward for the return or information leading to the return of the three bulls and four cows which had identification tattooed in each ear, they were never recovered.

UC Rusal took full control of Windalco in 2014, when the Government sold its shares. One of the world’s largest aluminium producers, the Russian company has been focusing mainly on the bauxite operations.

“There is a staff employed to care for the animals, but they told us that they are not provided with the necessary supplies they need. I am told the company is attributing the situation to the recent feed shortage, but from the state of the animals, this is long-term deprivation,” said the ministry official. “They can be prosecuted for cruelty to animals, with the charges will relate to the number of animals and the suffering.”

MOVE TO ALLEVIATE THE SUFFERING OF THE ANIMALS

Dermon Spence, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, expressed concern and reiterated the ministry’s position that Windalco must take immediate steps to cauterise and correct the situation.

“It is very unfortunate that a company of that size and capacity, which has had a long history in agriculture, would have allowed things to deteriorate to this point,” Spence told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday.

“They have a long and exemplary history in dairy and beef cattle rearing and we would like to see them get back to that stage, instead of what we are witnessing now,” he added.

Spence said as partners in agriculture, the ministry is prepared to work with the company to remedy the situation.

“In the meantime, our technical team, along with the JSPCA, has to do what needs to be done in order to get the animals back to good health and if this means that they are to be quarantined and managed while the company resolves the issues, we will work through that process with them,” Spence assured.

The ministry veterinarian said the JDDB is assisting with feed, “which is the priority, to stabilise the animals which are emaciated and really starved, so we are seeking to alleviate their suffering. An effort to save lives is the first order of business”.

SEVERAL DIED

However, for some of the animals, time has already run out.

The vet disclosed that 18 animals had died over a one-week period and since he visited the property in recent days, two more have died.

“The animals are in very poor condition – their diet, hunger and general treatment such as deworming – and the pastures are in very poor condition,” he disclosed.

The mature cattle have been able to survive because of their ability to forage further and for longer periods, but time is also running out for them, the vet warned.

“None of the pastures are being maintained, so pretty soon, those animals will be run-down, too. Within the next month and a half, they are going to start dropping dead because they have nothing to feed on. So the Government is going to have to take strong action against the company, and urgent action to save the animals,” said the ministry official.

“We are going to have a meeting with them on Monday with the intention to have the JSPCA charge them with cruelty to animals and we are also going to be looking to use the full force of the law to either confiscate the animals and find a safe haven for them or, if necessary, take over the entire operation.”

When contacted yesterday, a representative of UC Rusal, Maxim Sokov, said he was not in charge of the cattle operations so he could not respond to queries from the newspaper. He directed The Sunday Gleaner to speak with the company’s PR department during regular business hours when the office opens on Monday.

christopher.serju@gleanerjm.com