MISSION, B.C. — The discovery of a rotting and mutilated calf carcass in a water-filled ditch east of Vancouver is the latest such case to raise concerns for the BC Dairy Association.
Spokesman Trevor Hargreaves says he found a carcass in a ditch in Mission on Tuesday and that a check of the area's five commercial dairy producers confirmed the animal was not linked to those operations.
Hargreaves says several animals have been dumped in the same way in the Mission area and that investigations are underway by the SPCA and the Agriculture Ministry, which he says is doing a necropsy.
He says the ears of the recovered calf had been removed, making it difficult to trace the animal's history because most calves in B.C. are identified by ear tags.
Police in southwestern Manitoba are investigating similar cases where the remains of a goat, pony, three coyotes and a raccoon were recently found in ditches south of Brandon, and the goat's ears had been removed.
Hargreaves says the dumping of animal remains is unacceptable.
"You can't dispose of a rotting animal carcass in a body of water. It's not safe for the public, it's not acceptable industry practice in any capacity."
Dead farm animals should either be buried or sent to a rendering plant, he says, adding the actions of anyone dumping carcasses raise concerns about how other animals at the same farm are being treated.
