Bad water that killed cattle widespread problem: top vet
City of Regina director of parks and open space Ray Morgan handed out ladybugs — 300,000 of them — to children who helped release them in Victoria Park on Thursday. Ladybugs help control pesky aphids, which damage plants.
As definitive water test results came back in the case of 200 cows and calves found dead near Chaplin on July 7, a top official said water problems are more widespread than anticipated, and encouraged operators to remain vigilant.
On Monday Dr. Betty Althouse, chief veterinary officer with the province, said preliminary results showed dehydration caused by concentrated salts in the water had killed the cattle with an estimated value of $300,000 on a 23,700-acre pasture run by Shamrock Grazing Ltd. This has now been proven beyond doubt.
“The results show very high sulphate levels in the water,” she said of the affected area, which is on an overall pasture containing 1,500 head of cattle between 33 shareholders. The land is a former PFRA pasture whose control had been transferred to the community patron group.
There were eight owners affected by the deaths of the animals. The cattle drank bad water from a dugout. Over 24,000 milligrams per litre of sulphate was found in the tested water.
“To put that into context, animals can show clinical signs at levels as low as 1,000 (and) often neurological signs and death at 7,000,” Althouse said.
She added that total dissolved solids in the water were found to be 33,400 mg per litre, which she called “very concentrated” and “comparable to sea water.” Anything above 7,000 mg per litre is not recommended for use with cattle, with high sulphate levels leading to swelling on the brain.
However, with the present hot spell, Althouse was not just worried about this particular pasture.
“We have been getting increasing reports from across the province of people that are doing testing and finding poor water quality results, and more concentrated salts in the water than they would have expected,” she said, adding that with surface water and run-off water involved, local pre-existing ground conditions, as well as high evaporation can contribute to the spoiling of water.
The cattle were moved into the field where the incident occurred on July 1, and checked on the next day. Following the regular schedule for the pasture, staff then checked them again on July 7, when the cattle were found dead. Althouse said she didn’t think this routine was “unusual practice” for the operation, but encouraged owners to check “as often as you can.” She also urged producers to think of bringing in alternative water sources.
“(The staff has) got a system of going through the pastures, so you can’t physically be in every field every day,” Glenn Straub, president of Shamrock Grazing Ltd. told the Leader-Post earlier this week. “They had grass, they had water. Myself, I would have thought they were OK.”
“There can be very few signs for a few days,” Althouse said of animals consuming such levels of salty water. “And so they may look fine for a few days and then there will be sudden deaths.”
The investigation is ongoing, led by Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan (APSS). Althouse said previously that APSS is consulting with the RCMP.
“As with most charges, or cases, they (APSS) may have to work with a prosecutor to decide whether it meets that level, but it’s not something that we personally get involved with,” she said.
A further small number of cattle have since died, in addition to the 200 discovered dead on Friday, but many are much improved after treatment. The remaining 240 cattle were immediately moved and remain under observation.