How packed? Heads and legs hanging over the top, legs reaching up so high from the top that they almost touched the flashing red light at the 4-way stop intersection inside Wheatfield city limits...
It's hard to say if there were other dead animals stuffed underneath, but if they were all cows, it looked like there were more than 30 dead cows jammed into that truck!!
There were bits of dried grass (or straw/hay?), sticks and other debris frozen to the dead animals.
Several alarming questions come to mind, such as:
- How did the cows die?
- Were they carrying any potentially contagious diseases?
- Where did the cows come from?
- Why were they being transported in an open-top truck and not safely contained?
- Did they die recently?
- Or were they stored for some time near one of our rural communities?
- Has there been an outbreak on one of the dairy farms?
- What if an accident happened and all those dead bodies came tumbling out?
But just imagine what the children living in the beautiful subdivisions surrounding the proposed calf operation will be witnessing if the owner gets his IDEM certificate. I ask you, "WHAT in the WORLD was the Jasper County BZA thinking when they approved this special exception permit? Are they plumb nuts???" The pathetic conditions they attached to the permit will not, in my humble opinion, protect our children.
When I think about Gutwein's rediculous statements regarding perceptions of modern agriculture... then hear of such large quantities of dead animals being carted in open trucks inside city limits ...it's enough to make any parent shudder.
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4 comments:
Hey Karen those must be the Happy Cows! no more torture maybe they are happier
Did anyone get the license plate number of that truck? When cows die in those numbers, they need to be reported to the health department, right? Any sort of numbers like that need to be investigated and recorded. Where do these animals end up, or are they just buried somewhere?
da Jane do you think cows will live forever? Maybe they will show up in your dog food or fertilizer for your lawn. It is the circle of life-no big deal.
To Anonymous: Actually, you might be a bit mistaken regarding the dead animal carcasses that were hauled through Wheatfield on Feb. 12/2007... As I mentioned in the original post, there were A LOT. The truck was so stuffed, heads and limbs were hanging over the top of the truck, even sticking up so high they almost touched the flashing red light at the 4-way stop corner at 10 and 49.
Shortly after posting this information, my husband and I received an email telling us what we should do. Here's an excerpt regarding the hauling of dead animal carcasses:
"As to disposal of dead animals, IC 15-2.1-16 requires that animal
carcasses be properly disposed of within 24 hours of learning of an
animal's death. Proper carcass disposal is important to human heath, and to the health of wild and domestic animals. While the law applies to livestock, it does not apply to wildlife, or to small animals such as fish, reptiles, dogs, or cats. The State Board of Animal Health (SBoAH) has established four approved methods for carcass disposal: burial,
incineration, composting and rendering. Failure to comply with SBoAH's disposal guidelines is a felony under Indiana law. Incidents involving improper carcass disposal should be reported directly to the SBoAH at AC 317-227-0300."
So, yes, you're right in that cows do die. But, by your post, I'm guessing you had no idea that there were laws on the books regarding what must be done about the disposal of dead livestock?
Read the law above again. Did you catch the word FELONY?
I sure hope you don't operate a livestock operation in this region if this is your attitude on this important subject.
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