The Canadian livestock industry is preparing for more scrutiny as a result of the Walkerton, Ont., tragedy.
Seven confirmed deaths with four other deaths under investigation, and 1,000 poisonings due to E. coli 0157:H7 have been attributed to a polluted drinking water supply in southern Ontario’s Bruce County.
While no one has been able to pin down the exact source of the
E. coli, it is probably cattle, said Ontario Cattlemen’s Association officials.
Graeme Hedley, of the association, said the water supply was likely contaminated by manure. Bruce County has a lot of cattle.
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“We have had very dry soil conditions followed by heavy rains with increased runoff. It is possible under those circumstances that some manure made its way into the water supply.”
Hedley said the nearest feedlot is more than eight kilometres from the wells that Walkerton uses for its water supply.
Officials with the federal Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration said “ultimately livestock will be implicated in the Walkerton disaster.”
Phil Adkins of PFRA said the agriculture industry must pay more attention to waste handling and water quality.
Gerald Ollis, Alberta’s chief veterinarian, confirmed that cattle are the “number one reservoir for this type of E. coli.”
He said five to 40 percent of cattle shed the bacteria at any given time.
“It doesn’t make the cattle sick but it can kill humans. The more cattle you have in one area, the greater the chance you are going to have of it ending up someplace you don’t want it.”
Hedley expects that increased media coverage will draw attention to larger livestock facilities such as feedlots and hog and poultry barns.
“Manure management is already one of the big areas of study for cattle producer organizations and this will drive that agenda even more.”
Ron Glazier, of the Alberta Cattle Commission, said the intensive livestock industry has been aware of the situation. All newer feedlots and larger barns must meet provincial manure management regulations and the industry is investing in research and producer education.
“We’ve been working on a new code of practice for livestock production and we hope that will help make it safer for everyone.”
Hans Peterson of the Safe Drinking Water Foundation in Saskatoon said he and other scientists have warned the livestock industry and government for years about the possibility of manure tainting drinking water.
“Rural water is prone to this type of pollution. It doesn’t matter if it is human waste or that of livestock, we need to sound some alarm bells and make sure that all waste is handled properly and that rural water is given the same priority that urban water gets. That means good legislation and more research and education.”
Adkins said rural communities and farmers are concerned about the issue.
“The very farmers who operate these feedlots and barns live there and depend on safe sources of water and food. They want the research and regulations as much as anybody.”
Normally, E. coli problems occur when meat is contaminated at slaughter or when food crops are irrigated or washed in infected water.
Ground water infections occur rarely, said public health officials. However, surface water can become contaminated if exposed to runoff from livestock manure.
