Cattle deaths due to poison
Dean Poling
The Valdosta Daily Times
Tests have confirmed that an insecticide caused the death of a herd of South Georgia cattle last week, but authorities are still trying to determine if the deaths were accidental or caused by criminal wrongdoing, according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
On Sunday morning, April 6, the Lanier County Sheriff’s Department received a call that “cows were dropping dead” on the Holbrook family farm. The site was actually in Clinch County, so the Lanier County Sheriff’s Department was not the official responder, but did assist in the case. Though his was not the official investigating agency, Lanier Sheriff Nick Norton was willing to speak about the incident on record last week when other area and state officials would not.
Though initial reports placed the number of dead cattle at approximately 44, the Georgia Department of Agriculture put the number at 35 cows that died almost instantly after consuming the insecticide. While the majority of the cattle were reportedly buried in accordance with Georgia’s Dead Animal Disposal Act, a few were kept for testing.
“We conducted tests on three of the dead cattle and found aldicarb in their rumen,” Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin said in a statement Tuesday. The rumen is the first stomach of cud-chewing animals, such as cattle, where the majority of the food collects after being swallowed.
The tests confirmed reports that the cows died from consuming Temik, a pesticide for cotton and soybeans. Aldicarb is sold under the brand name of Temik, the agriculture commission noted.
“We tested feed from the trough where the cattle had eaten and found aldicarb,” Irvin said. “We also did a composite sample of 10 unopened bags from the same lot of feed. The sample did not contain any traces of the insecticide.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident to determine if it was an accident or criminal in nature.
“This appears to be an isolated incident,” Irvin said. “... There was never any danger that any of the poisoned cows would get into the food chain.”
Dean Poling
The Valdosta Daily Times
Tests have confirmed that an insecticide caused the death of a herd of South Georgia cattle last week, but authorities are still trying to determine if the deaths were accidental or caused by criminal wrongdoing, according to the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
On Sunday morning, April 6, the Lanier County Sheriff’s Department received a call that “cows were dropping dead” on the Holbrook family farm. The site was actually in Clinch County, so the Lanier County Sheriff’s Department was not the official responder, but did assist in the case. Though his was not the official investigating agency, Lanier Sheriff Nick Norton was willing to speak about the incident on record last week when other area and state officials would not.
Though initial reports placed the number of dead cattle at approximately 44, the Georgia Department of Agriculture put the number at 35 cows that died almost instantly after consuming the insecticide. While the majority of the cattle were reportedly buried in accordance with Georgia’s Dead Animal Disposal Act, a few were kept for testing.
“We conducted tests on three of the dead cattle and found aldicarb in their rumen,” Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin said in a statement Tuesday. The rumen is the first stomach of cud-chewing animals, such as cattle, where the majority of the food collects after being swallowed.
The tests confirmed reports that the cows died from consuming Temik, a pesticide for cotton and soybeans. Aldicarb is sold under the brand name of Temik, the agriculture commission noted.
“We tested feed from the trough where the cattle had eaten and found aldicarb,” Irvin said. “We also did a composite sample of 10 unopened bags from the same lot of feed. The sample did not contain any traces of the insecticide.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident to determine if it was an accident or criminal in nature.
“This appears to be an isolated incident,” Irvin said. “... There was never any danger that any of the poisoned cows would get into the food chain.”