A father and his son have pleaded guilty in an animal welfare case in which 225 cattle are estimated to have died.Wayne and Barrett Robinson of Outlook, Sask., had been charged with allowing their cattle to be in distress.After they pleaded guilty in Outlook court, the judge ordered the maximum fine of $5,000 each and a surcharge of $750 each. As well, the two men are prohibited from owning animals other than a cat or dog for 10 years.“We’re very pleased with the 10 year prohibition because it sets a precedent,” said Lloyd Howden, acting manager of animal protective services for the Saskatchewan SPCA.“We don’t have a lot of case precedent because until the last few years we have not been successful to get the courts to take these cases seriously.”The SPCA received a complaint March 2, 2009, about dead and starving cattle on the Robinson farm. The cattle appeared emaciated or in poor body condition. There was no water or windbreak available and the animals had only straw to eat.Officials estimated from the carcasses on the property that 225 animals had died.As chief investigator, Howden was first on the scene.“This is the worst situation that I have ever seen, or investigated in Saskatchewan. It was even depressing just to see it,” he said.The cattle were removed from the property March 4. Officials seized 288 live animals and euthanized 14 because of their poor physical condition.Howden said 120 cattle are unaccounted for.“I’m guessing they had been dying over a longer term. There are hides and bones scattered all over the property. The ground is literally covered with bones and clumps of hide,” he said. “If we could have heard of that situation six to eight months sooner, we could have saved a whole lot of agony in them cattle. The suffering must have been unimaginable.”He said the SPCA is receiving more animal abuse complaints but doesn’t think it’s a sign of a growing problem.Howden said it is important that producers have their feed samples analyzed to determine energy and total digestible nutrient levels.
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