Sask. ranchers urged to test water after mass cattle deaths

The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association is encouragingranchers to test the water in their dugouts, after hundreds of cattle died and fell ill in a grazing pasture nearShamrock, Sask., this month.

Tests are still underway to determine what led to that loss of life.

Saskatchewan's chief veterinary officer, BettyAlthouse,iswaiting onpost-mortem test results. However, it'slikely that dehydration due to concentrated salt in the waterkilled the calves and cows, she said Monday.

The Ministry of Agriculturegathered samples from thedugout that wasthe deadcattle's water sourceand will release the results once they are ready.

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In light of the recent fatalities and the scorching, dry weather local ranchers should exercise extra caution, said Chad MacPherson.

He's the general manager of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, which educates and advocates for people in the province's beef industry.

"The current conditions are kind of a perfect storm," he said.

"[There] wasn'ta lot of spring run-off to dilute the ponds and then there's been a lot of evaporation, no precipitation, so the different salts and different things are accumulating in higher concentrations."

This health hazard hasn't been talked about as much as some others have,MacPherson said.

"People havebeen kind of aware of blue-green algae blooms," he said. "The salt situation is kind of an emerging one."

He said thereisn't a concrete rule forhow often people should checktheir animals or their dugouts,but the organization is urging ranchers to do so more frequently.

MacPherson said people can call theprovince's Agriculture Knowledge Centre if they have questions about water testing or concerns about their land.

Producers can pick up water-testing jugs and jars from the Ministry of Agriculture regional offices or directly from a lab. Some RM offices carry them too, but it's recommended people call ahead to make sure they're in stock, he said.

Basic tests cost$34.75 at the Saskatchewan Water Lab. The testing is also available at other businesses.

'It was an accident': Shamrock president

The scene of rotting carcassesand dying cows spread about the pasture is one that has stuck with Shamrock Grazing Ltd. president Glenn Straub.

"Anybody that loves a cow don't want to see that," he said Tuesday.

Shamrock Grazing operates thepasture where the cattle were found dead. Itleases Crown land from the province and charges ranchersto oversee grazing and water access over the summer.

Straubiswaiting on the test results,but still shared advice for others.

"In this type of conditions, test your water. Watch your pastures. Maybe in these conditions, maybe there is weeds that are poisonous. We don't know that," he said.

Just days before the cattle died, theywere moved to a new grazing pasture and were last checked on July 2. The hundreds of dead and ill cattle were found July 7.

Animal protection officers are investigating to see if the cattle died from neglect and RCMP are assisiting with the investigation. The case has been called "complex," as it deals with the quality of water rather than its existence.

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On Tuesday, Straub denied allegations of neglect.

"They were in a pasture. There was water available to them," hesaid. "It was an accident."

A Livestock Water Quality Guide put out by the Ministry of Agriculturesaid high levels of sodium intake for prolonged periods of time can produce a range of symptoms for cattle.

That includes "gastrointestinal irritation with vomiting, diarrhea, mucoid feces, abdominal pain, anorexia, thirst, salvation and polyuria."

It can also produce nervous system effects, including "knuckling, blindness, muscular spasms, paresis and convulsions."