An Ontario man has been fined $1,880 for shipping a “fallen” cow, which a veterinarian at the receiving livestock market deemed had been “disabled by disease, emaciation or another condition that is likely to cause its death.”
Amos Martin pleaded guilty in provincial court in Guelph, Ont. July 13.
Martin shipped a cull cow Jan. 22 to the Ontario Livestock Exchange in Waterloo.
A veterinary inspector there examined the cow and found it had a twisted stomach and described it as being distressed recumbent, unable to rise, dehydrated, dull and depressed.
Martin was fined $1,500 for the offence, and was also charged a victim fine surcharge and court costs, for a total of $1,880.
Under Ontario’s Food Safety and Quality Act, it is illegal to move a fallen animal before it is killed. It is also illegal to process it for food, or to delivery it to any person for the purposes of it being used for human consumption.
The maximum fine is $25,000 for a first conviction, and $50,000 for each subsequent conviction.
