Officials Report On Inspection Of ‘Cow Ship’
The Department of Environmental Protection confirmed they have inspected the M/V Friesian Express – a ship carrying 1,400 cows – which arrived on the island on the evening of March 21st, 2011.
The sea freighter made an unscheduled call to Bermuda after experiencing mechanical difficulties while on route from Delaware to Turkey. On board the vessel are a crew of 25 persons and 1,400 Holstein-Friesian cattle.
The Department received word of the vessel’s arrival on Monday morning. Officers acted to address several unanswered questions at that time. Concerns centered around the following:
- protection of the local dairy industry from potential cattle diseases;
- protection of the local environment from discharges and effluent materials from the vessel;
- ensuring the health, welfare and security of the livestock on board for an uncertain amount of time;
- placement of the cattle if they had to be removed from the vessel.
A spokesperson said, “Officers of the Department boarded the vessel at approximately 6:30pm on Monday. The Captain was given the standard instructions regarding control of discharges. The livestock on board and accompanying health documentation were inspected. All appeared to be well and the animals qualified to be landed onto the Island if the need arose.”
“The cattle appeared to be in good health, with feed, hay and water available. Housing conditions were acceptable, but were cause for concern as we were uncertain how long acceptable conditions could be maintained.”
“We were also concerned that if the vessel’s stay in Bermuda became prolonged, there may be insufficient feedstuffs to sustain the animals to the next port of call,” said Government Veterinary Officer at the Department of Environmental Protection Jonathan Nisbett. “The situation was viewed as being quite serious.”
Dr. Nisbett added: “Several options and contingencies were explored, but much depended on when the vessel would be repaired. Feed was a critical element. We knew that the vessel had sufficient feedstuffs for an additional 10 days, but had to ensure that feed would still be sufficient to last to the next port-of-call when the vessel was ready to leave.”
“There is insufficient cattle feed on Island to restock the vessel. Feedstuffs would take about one week to arrive, and would have had to be ordered least by Wednesday to ensure a timely arrival. The US Department of Agriculture also became aware of our scenario and contacted the local Department. The USDA offered to organize emergency feed deliveries and other relief if the need arose.”
The Department said, “Cleanliness was also of concern as each day passed. Cleaning of the cattle stalls normally takes place on the high seas. Disposing of the manure into our inshore waters or connecting to WEDCO sewer system were not options. Cleaning the stalls while in port would require extensive manual labour and potentially off-loading the animals. That raised the question of where the animals would be kept during the cleaning process. Malabar Field appeared to be the best available option. The second question was whether Turkey would continue to accept the cattle if they were off-loaded.”
“A follow-up inspection of the animals occurred on Wednesday, with another occurring today. Conditions of the animals and housing remain unchanged. The cattle were eating well, were bright and alert and displayed good body condition. Manure, urine and soiled bedding were present, and the ship’s ventilation system was working to minimize ammonia in the air.”
“Repairs to the vessel have been ongoing, and the latest information indicates the Friesian Express will likely depart on Sunday. With that timeframe in mind, neither relief supplies of feed nor off-loading the animals will be necessary. The situation is being closely monitored.”
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Category: All, Environment
Wow!!!! Good thing it was not a “Sheep Ship”…….Got enough here on island already…..Baha baha baha………
True that! But we definitely had enough Bull**** already!
Regarding the 1,400 cattle that are here on our shores and the untimely death of 8 cows at a local farm. Was there an inspection of the handlers of the bovines? Is it possible that something found it’s way to the cows through what they may have tracked off the boat and on to our island in their boots, gloves and clothing or ropes, tools etc. It is good that the animals were not taken off the ship. But we should be very wary of further incidents regarding livestock. Now we have an issue of gecko lizards that could pose a danger to our original life forms that were here before the English sauntered off their ships and onto our pink sand beaches. Just how many inspectors work for Agriculture and Fisheries. Let’s keep on top of these new tourists. Perhaps, they will eat up the Black Widow spiders and the Brown Recluse spiders that snuck aboard the container ships.