December 20, 2022

 

More than 100 cows at farm in island country Jersey dead

 

 

More than 100 dairy cows at Woodlands Farm in the island country of Jersey have fallen ill and died since December 15.

 

Cattle in a separate part of the herd on the farm have been unaffected, and samples from the feed and the animals have been sent for analysis. The Jersey government said 33,000 litres of milk collected from across the island on December 16 and stored at Jersey Dairy will be disposed of as a precaution.

 

The cause of the cows' deaths is not yet known, the government said.

 

Minister for the Environment, Deputy Jonathan Renouf, said it could take "around a week" to get the analysis back from the samples.

 

He said: "We don't yet know, for sure, what has caused this devastating loss of so many of this dairy herd, and my thoughts are with all those at the farm having to come to terms with what's happened.

 

"I'm reassured to hear that no milk from the specifically affected sub herd has entered the food chain, and that every precaution has been taken to safeguard public and animal health."

 

Renouf said discussions were underway about how best to dispose of the milk currently in storage.

 

The dead cattle have been taken to the Animal Carcass Incinerator, the government said.

 

Director of Public Health, Professor Peter Bradley, said there was no risk to health, as milk was being disposed of. He said the situation would be monitored closely over the next couple of days.

 

Jersey Dairy said investigations were continuing to determine the root cause of what happened at Woodlands.

 

In a statement, Eamon Fenlon, managing director of Jersey Dairy, said this was "an isolated incident" and no other farms had been affected.

 

Fenlon said Jersey Dairy had been working with Public Health to ensure there was no risk to consumers, adding none of the company's products contained milk from the affected farm.

 

- BBC