Eight Cows Die, Farm Quarantined
The mass death of cows at a Devonshire farm in recent days is being probed by Government inspectors who today [Nov. 17] assured the public there is “no direct danger to the local milk supply.”
The Department of Environmental Protection issued a statement this afternoon reporting that eight cows have died over the past three days at the Belhaven farm in Devonshire.
Various steps are being taken to ensure the illness has not spread to other farms, added the Department.
The Department said all relevant authorities have been informed, including the US Department of Agriculture. Staff from the Department of Environmental Protection are visiting other local farms to ensure the illness has not spread.
So far believe it has been confined to this single site, and steps have been taken to quarantine Belhaven farm.
No animals have been permitted to enter or leave the farm, and officials are taking special precautions when entering and leaving the premises to ensure there is no cross-contamination between farms.
The full statement follows below:
The Department of Environmental Protection would like to inform the public that, as of 4pm today, November 17, eight cows have died over the past three days at the Belhaven farm in Devonshire.
However, the Department would like to stress that these cows were ‘dry cows’ – meaning that this site is used to place cows that are not producing milk.
Therefore there is no direct danger to the local milk supply as the cows at the Belhaven site are not being milked. Furthermore, these animals were also not scheduled for slaughter so there is no possibility that there has been human consumption of this meat.
The problem was first reported by a nearby resident. Since the case was first attended to by private Veterinarian Dr. Dane Coombs, the Government Veterinarian Dr. Jonathan Nisbett has also been called on to assist.
The carcasses of dead animals are being carefully and safely disposed of. Tissue samples along with samples of soil, hay, faeces and feed have been collected and contact is being made overseas to have the samples analyzed.
Special permits are required to send samples into the United States which are currently pending approval.
All relevant authorities have been informed, including the Environmental Health Section of the Department of Health, the island’s Chief Medical Officer, and the US Department of Agriculture.
Staff from the Department of Environmental Protection are currently visiting other farms across the island to ensure the illness has not spread but so far believe it has been confined to this single site.
Steps have been taken to quarantine this farm and no animals have been permitted to enter or leave the farm. Officials are taking special precautions when entering and leaving the premises to ensure there is no cross-contamination between farms.
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Category: All, Environment, News
So I guess I’m staying off any milk that the Milk Man sells!
The health department needs to inspect the milkman estates to make sure we are not getting contaminated milk products. Why don’t the reporters call the health department and get an interview about how clean or not the Dunkley products are? Be interested in seeing if they have the fortitude to investigate Dunk like they do anyone associated with non OBA businesses
All farms should be carefully checked by the health department!
i dont drink milk……RUM RUM RUM
So…I guess they have MOOOOVED to greener pastures.
oh, pull the udder one
how long can you two milk this?
Till we run out of horns to blow.
I’ve herd that one before .
Bie it vas on de wee-s-bee news, with Peter Cattle
They suffered from dead cow disease .
You knuckleheads are mildly amusing, but not for the cows
Q: What kind of milk comes from a forgetful cow?
A: Milk of Amnesia..lol
May the cows R.I.P. And the ones I ate last week.
Ok people, so I know most you are having a cow over this situation and frankly the fact that the solution is not black and white just gets my goat. I say it is time for the powers that be to cut the bull and beef up security on these farms. How else will we move to greener pastures as said above? I’d give my left calf to be herd on this topic.
THERE REALLY NEEDS TO BE CHEQUE AND BALANCES ON THIS MILK ISSUE.
People are joking as if these cows were on some distant farm in Wisconsin or something ( 200 cows suddenly died there this year also by the way ). There’s a 90% chance that these cows at one time supplied milk that you drank…
How long have those cows been “dry”?
Were they pulled because this sickness was discovered ?
How long might they have been potentially supplying affected milk before they took them off line?
You or somebody you know may have been affected already – let’s hope it’s not serious…
Oh please, can’t we lighten up on a subject every once in awhile. Hopefully those involved are dealing with it seriously.
Meanwhile the rest of us will have some fun with it till…well…the cows come home.
agreed, this hasn’t turned into a racial or political argument yet! Let’s seize the moment. lol
think it is a little too late, some members of the political parties have been infected with Mad Cow Disease…
It might not even be an illness! Could be that some boys on the street are experimenting with their drugs or something. Sounds a little fishy to me and it wouldn’t surprise me if they are trying things out poisonous chemicals on poor animals. Hope the results are made known to the public.