Carcasses of calves found in ditch

WARNING: graphic content below.

Multiple carcasses of calves were found in a ditch on Sylvester Road north of Mission Tuesday.

Residents of the area are no strangers to seeing an assortment of garbage disposed in this location, but the gruesome discovery of deceased calves was disturbing to many.

Angelica Reid, a concerned resident of the area says that she feels the calves were disposed of like they were trash.

“That was a living creature, at one point,” said Reid. “It had purpose.”

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The body parts of the calves were butchered and the ears were cut off. When the B.C. SPCA was contacted they said they would only investigate the case if the person responsible is identified. Dead livestock, the SPCA says, is out of their jurisdiction.

However, the BC Dairy Association has now launched a formal investigation. They said they have checked with their local farmers and don’t believe that the calves belonged to any of them. It is suspected that the calves were owned by a hobby farmer.

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The B.C. Ministry of Agriculture has clear rules on the disposal of livestock.

According to the ministry, all livestock mortalities must be kept on the farm and disposed of on the property with all necessary precautions taken to ensure this is done in a safe, protected and sanitary way.

“Mortalities must be disposed of on the farm where they died unless removed by a dead stock pickup service provider who will transport the mortalities to a suitable intermediate authorized site for further transportation or disposal,” according to the Ministry of Agriculture’s website.

Global News has contacted the chief veterinarian from the Ministry of Agriculture, who requested the body of the calf be collected and taken in to determine the cause of death.

-With files from John Hua.