When Jonathan Fortin woke up Friday morning, he found that his herd of “Black Angus” cattle had disappeared from the meadow.
Mr. Fortin, co-owner of Ferme ForThé, in Cookshire-Eaton, in the Eastern Townships, said he initially thought his calves and cows had perhaps run away. But the presence of tire tracks and a fence that appeared to have been taken down led him to conclude that something more sinister had happened.
He indicated in an interview on Monday that his entire herd, nearly 75 animals, had been stolen.
Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Louis-Philippe Ruel announced that the SQ had opened a criminal investigation after arriving at Mr. Fortin’s farm on Friday and finding that the cattle had “disappeared”.
Mr. Ruel did not say how police planned to trace the herd, but he stressed that the thieves needed transportation and a place to hide the cattle.
“You can’t move that many animals in a Honda Civic or a Toyota Corolla,” he emphasized in a telephone interview.
$200,000 in uninsured losses
Mr. Fortin estimates that his cattle were taken between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Thursday evening, while he had gone to work at his second job.
The grower said neighbors later reported seeing trailer lights and hearing a commotion in his field. But neighbors then believed that buyers had come to look for cattle.
The farmer said the loss of about $200,000 worth of livestock represents a good portion of his savings and four years of hard work growing his farm.
“There are a lot of emotions, because even though it’s a new business, it represents all the work and savings of a lifetime,” he explained Monday. To have a herd this size has required a lot of sacrifices — sometimes it means working two jobs, for example. »
Mr. Fortin emphasizes that it is not easy to load dozens of cattle into trailers, but not impossible for someone with experience. He also said that the ear tag worn by animals can be removed.
Although he had heard of stolen animals before, the producer never believed that his entire herd could be kidnapped at once. He points out that people can sometimes steal a calf in order to raise them for meat, but not an entire herd.
Mr. Fortin still hopes that the police will be able to find his cattle, which were not insured against theft. Otherwise, he will have to replenish his herd two or three animals at a time, while postponing indefinitely his plans to abandon his second job in order to devote himself to agriculture full time.
“Of course it’s very difficult physically, and even more morally, because we’re starting from scratch. »