Exciting Times at Agribition

[Diamond]

Wow, you know im all for enjoyin taking home banners but buddy you need to seek help if you take showing cattle that far. Im sorry but everyone of them *cough* fitters *cough* need to get a life, no one respects people like that, and to me, well they arnt nothing but garbage who should be thrown out of the shows.

 

[cndcattle]

The results are in and the only thing that has been heard is that it was not a virus (obviously) and also that the cow did not drown.

 

[simtal]

Do they not sell root beer up there?

 

[OLD WORLD SHORTIE]

Man that sucks, i say these shows need to police the barns better on show day. I see all kinds of stuff going on in Texas, its just not right, to bad an animal had to die. So some jack ass tried to take his old probly not gonna win it heifer and pump the hell out of her with 3.5 bottles. Why am i not surprised, i know some animals that could never compete it wasn't for the pumping, im not gonna lie it works. Im not gonna do it, and i wont do it to someones project.

 

[outlawcattlecompany]

Pumping for the purpose of anything but the health of an animal is unethcial, plain and simple.

 

[Freddy]

I don't have the answer for all of this , but I can tell you what will eventally happen , there won't be any shows ..AKSARBEN steer show is down to 200 head at their steer show , with the practices that are going on we are headed for extinction ,shows an sales combinations are having a hard time making it work , people would rather go to a breeder sale, it isn't all the show jocks ,the judges want as fat a animal as you can get because they look better .  There are a lot of problems in the whole process ..like I said  I don't have the answers but it looks like some new ideas are needed  for a lot of problems ...Just an idea is maybe we need to quit individual  competition an go to more groups ,our cattle are so much better than they use to be ,an it is harder to pick an individual that is superior over the other one...    The presentation of these cattle is so much more competitive also ....

 

[Torch]

What if there had been an activist that caught it all on film? There would be an outcry for some law or regulation. It would effectively divide the beef industry into two camps. Would you support the activist or defend the practice? I know I would be hard pressed to defend the actions of those who do stuff like this. And thus the fragmentation of the opposition to regulation of the show industry would begin.

We are under a microscope like never before by our opponents. Are we the good ranchers we profess to be? How many sent an email to the show management supporting a stern sentence for those that commit this type of harm? Our apathy is support for our opponents.

JMHO
T

 

[Okotoks]

What if there had been an activist that caught it all on film? There would be an outcry for some law or regulation. It would effectively divide the beef industry into two camps. Would you support the activist or defend the practice? I know I would be hard pressed to defend the actions of those who do stuff like this. And thus the fragmentation of the opposition to regulation of the show industry would begin.

We are under a microscope like never before by our opponents. Are we the good ranchers we profess to be? How many sent an email to the show management supporting a stern sentence for those that commit this type of harm? Our apathy is support for our opponents.

JMHO
T

You are right, we need to be vocal against this type of animal abuse. These people are jeopardising our way of life. We need to report abusers the minute we see them. If you were at a football game and someone did something unethical would you just sit there? You would be on feet with everyone else yelling for a penalty!

 

[Okotoks]

I contacted Agribition today and they are still awaiting autopsy results and doing the due diligence required to ascertain all the facts. They do have a zero tolerance policy for any animal abuse so I guess we all need to be patient while they sort through this. Make no mistake they are taking this situation very seriously but have an obligation to do the proper investigation. I think any exhibitors that might have factual information should take the time to contact them.

 

[forcheyhawk]

Ive seen hundreds of animals, pumped with sprite or 7-up, never 7 liters, but ive never seen them get sick or die from it. The fack that her nose turned blue make me think they got the liquid in her lungs and drowned the cow, anyone with pumping experience should have been able to avoid this. It is pretty obvious when it starts to go down the wrong pipe. Pumping is necessary in my mind, sometimes when cattle get to shows they stop eating and drinking, cattle look pretty horrible when they are rung out like this. It would be a waste of time to get stuck low in a class because of this, especially when there is a solution with a pump.

What a crock.  Pumping is not necessary.  If your cattle can't make the adjustments, then they shouldn't be winners.  Pumping should be illegal and IMO it is morally and ethically unacceptable.  Pumping should ONLY occur if the animal needs it to survive.  I bet that 90% of the time that it's done just for fill - the cattle have made the adjustments but don't have a desired look.  Where do we draw the line to fill them up?  I've heard of people airing calves.  Should we allow that too?  Is winning really that important?  Do you feel good about winning when you have to give up moral and ethical standards?  Sorry but I think some of you make too many compromises to good judgment to justify winning.  That's a sign of weakness.

 

[Torch]

Ive seen hundreds of animals, pumped with sprite or 7-up, never 7 liters, but ive never seen them get sick or die from it. The fack that her nose turned blue make me think they got the liquid in her lungs and drowned the cow, anyone with pumping experience should have been able to avoid this. It is pretty obvious when it starts to go down the wrong pipe. Pumping is necessary in my mind, sometimes when cattle get to shows they stop eating and drinking, cattle look pretty horrible when they are rung out like this. It would be a waste of time to get stuck low in a class because of this, especially when there is a solution with a pump.

What a crock.  Pumping is not necessary.  If your cattle can't make the adjustments, then they shouldn't be winners.  Pumping should be illegal and IMO it is morally and ethically unacceptable.  Pumping should ONLY occur if the animal needs it to survive.  I bet that 90% of the time that it's done just for fill - the cattle have made the adjustments but don't have a desired look.  Where do we draw the line to fill them up?  I've heard of people airing calves.  Should we allow that too?  Is winning really that important?  Do you feel good about winning when you have to give up moral and ethical standards?  Sorry but I think some of you make too many compromises to good judgment to justify winning.  That's a sign of weakness.

It's all fun and games until someone loses their prize heifer. :'(

 

[forcheyhawk]

We teach what we allow.

 

[outlawcattlecompany]

Ive seen hundreds of animals, pumped with sprite or 7-up, never 7 liters, but ive never seen them get sick or die from it. The fack that her nose turned blue make me think they got the liquid in her lungs and drowned the cow, anyone with pumping experience should have been able to avoid this. It is pretty obvious when it starts to go down the wrong pipe. Pumping is necessary in my mind, sometimes when cattle get to shows they stop eating and drinking, cattle look pretty horrible when they are rung out like this. It would be a waste of time to get stuck low in a class because of this, especially when there is a solution with a pump.

Cattle not eating and drinking at shows is part of the game. There are HUNDREDS of ethical practices and techniques to take care of these situations. Pumping is a cowardly way of solving a problem when a little knowledge and work can get the same results, and I could absolutely care less if I offend anyone by stating such. People need to remember these are still animals we are dealing with, they have nerve endings just like us. If someone needs to cheat to win then they don't need to show. 

 

[snowbunny]

Livestock In the Western Producer Dec. 9th

Charolais death prompts guide changes
    By KAREN BRIERE, Regina Bureau
December 9, 2010
The Canadian Charolais Association plans to rewrite its show guidelines after an incident at the recent Canadian Western Agribition in Regina.

General manager Neil Gillies said although the board had not yet seen autopsy results from a Charolais cow that died during the event, and were not assigning blame, they needed to make changes.

Witnesses have said someone administered soda pop to the cow before it was taken into the show ring to make the animal appear fuller. It later collapsed and died in distress.

The two-year-old cow was ACC Miss Trim, who placed second in her class of two, with her calf at side. She was exhibited by Prairie Cove Charolais of Bowden, Alta. Additional owners were Don Grant Farms and Clear Lake Charolais.

Gillies said once the autopsy report is received from Agribition, the board may decide what further action might be taken.

The executive looked at the CCA guidelines in light of what allegedly happened. The guidelines prohibit action such as surgery to make animals look different.

“There’s nothing about anything to do with pumping (or) drenching or that sort of thing,” he said. “We’re going to address that irrespective of whatever happens.”

Gillies said the CCA office has received many letters and calls from people expressing concern. There are many versions of events, he said.

“We just really need to get something official before we move forward,” he said.

Agribition chief executive officer Jason Pollock said Dec. 6 that the organization had not received conclusive results from the autopsy, but he added the incident would not be swept under the rug.

He said all exhibitors are aware of the rules and Agribition has processes to deal with them. He said he wants to make sure all the facts are in place before saying more.

“We take the care of all our livestock very seriously,” he said. “The challenge we have right now is answers take a little bit of time.”

The Nov. 26 incident has been a subject of conversation at farm meetings and on the internet since it happened.

Many are wondering what action Agribition will take if allegations that the animal was filled with soda pop prove true.

A poster on the Rancher. net website with the user name Highplains wrote that the non-farm public that learn of this incident will paint all producers with the same brush.

“Truly an example of what we should not be doing with animals in our care,” the person wrote.

Gillies said he has heard from people who are upset.

“We’ve got enough people that are genuinely upset with, as much as anything, the fact that nobody likes to see a cow die like that. She was obviously in distress and exactly what caused that distress we don’t know yet.”

Orland Walker, president of the Saskatchewan Charolais Association, wouldn’t comment on the matter, but said it would be discussed at a Dec. 16 association meeting.

 

[HF CHARS]

Can anyone that was at Agribition give a first had account of the Charolais Heifer that was plumped out using soda pop and died as a result?  I herd the barn was quarantined as well.  What if anything happened to the heifers owner
Has anyone heard the outcome of what happened? It has been a week now - the Post should have been done and the results should be available...
I think all exhibitors have the right to know what happened to that cow - if it wasn't human error that caused her to die, was it a virus that we should be concerned we took home with us?? Just saying...

I was there, stalled in the barn.  The barn was never quarantined.  It was known from the beginning the cow wasn't sick.  She looked good in the stall the morning of the stall.  Probably would have been reserve Div.

 

[TPX]

update on the punishment from the local news paper

http://www.leaderpost.com/Agribition+lays+three+year+Alberta+exhibitor+after+death/4093671/story.html

 

[peachy]

So what happened to the heifer? There was speculation that the heifer was pumped but were there any facts? If she died from natural causes that punishment is kinda harsh. I wasnt there, dont know anything about it.

 

[cndcattle]

The cow did not die from natural causes. Although it will never be published, the cow was pumped and from a lack of knowledge or carelessness they killed her. I think this is fair punishment. And their name will always be tarnished now anyways

 

[thunderdownunder]

A fitting result.
It's about time people learnt that winning isn't everything.

 

[bruiser]

The easy way to stop it is not do any business with the guy . None! Talk your feed people into shuning him . If this happens enough, people will start to see the light.