poisoned cows

[gates98]

I need any advice anyone can give or any suggestions.  At the end of July our electric coop came through and sprayed the brush(and a lot more) under the power lines with chemicals.  We stopped the men that were doing the spraying at my grandparents house while they were spaying shrubs in there yard.  One of them only said "I spray" .  That was all we could understand. We ran them out of the yard and that was the last we seen them.  8 days later I came home from out of town to find a dead cow.  Vet came and couldn't find anything wrong.  (she had been dead about 2 days)  2 days later 2 cows had dead calves about 3 weeks early, and another the next day, and then another.  After about a week of this and the vet being at my house more than his office we finally put the spraying and the problems together.  About this time brush, grass, and everything else around the power lines was dead enough to see where all had been sprayed.  There were dead spots out into the pasture 30 feet, even worse all grass around and IN the creeks were the cattle drink was dead. And worst of all grass in my yard were my kids play had been sprayed.  We called the coop and they directed us to the contracted sprayer who said there was nothing harmfull in the spray to people or animals.  After that I contacted the state dept of Ag who sent someone to inspect the spraying.  The inspector said there was multiple violations, but they cant help with animal damages just plant.He  took samples and many pics.  and said it would be 2 to 4 months before we would hear anything.  Since then I noticed a LOT of my spring herd in heat and at preg check 70% of my heifers were open and 45% of the cows were.  After speaking with the spray company owner and being blown off again we have tried to find an attorney to help us but all of them say they don't handle this stuff or they don't want to do it at all.  I need help and advice. Thanks for any you can give.

 

[GoWyo]

You will need an attorney to assert a claim on this because you are getting the run around.  The primary problem is going to be proof that the spray was the cause.  Sounds like you have not even been told what specific product was sprayed.  If your damages are not fairly high, most attorneys are not going to want the case on a contingency basis because it looks like a lot of work with a low chance of return, but there are a few who might take it hourly.  Look outside the immediate community as the local attorneys may have conflicts in taking cases against local businesses.  Also, you will need assistance from your vet to determine whether the substance sprayed can cause the problems you have outlined, especially if not properly mixed.  Don't give up.

 

[chambero]

Its extremely unlikely a herbicide killed your cows  unless they drank it straight out of a 55 gallon drum.  I dont know how the applicators could screw it up bad enough to cause harm.  Utility and pipeline owners are required by law to keep their easements clear and have the right to spray if they want to.  Thats probably why a lawyer doesnt want to touch it. 

We've never had a problem with them spraying on our land.  Plus we do a bunch of chemical weed and brush control management on our land and have never had adverse effects on our cattle.

I'm not telling you this to argue with you, but you might want to get someone from NRCS out to look and make sure you dont have some kind of noxious weeds or other undiscovered problem.

 

[ba]

A bit late maybe but send carcass to a university lab and let them know what happen for test results.
I trimmed feet on a dairy herd that had been sprayed  by field crop spray and you could not hardly tell
how the hooves were shaped. They looked like a founder that you could never imagined.
Document a play by play . You will need it. they have any bond or liability insurance?

 

[GoWyo]

They'll almost certainly have insurance.  The hard part is proving it the spray was the cause.

 

[cowcrazy]

I think I would request a list of the chemicals that were sprayed, and once you obtain it, do some research on the chemicals.  You can get information on the internet about them and any adverse reactions they may cause. 

 

[aj]

I know in the one animal cruelty,cow starvation case that I testified in the judge couldn't get the accused cause no autopsies had been done. So common sense showed cows were starved but no vet did an autopsy.So a vet ("experts opinion is needed).

 

[simbeef]

Definately find out what was sprayed.  As was posted earlier most herbicides should be relatively non toxic with LD 50's a lot like most household cleaning supplier but there are a few compounds like paraquat that could be extremely lethal if ingested by cattle.  Once you know what was applied you should be able to pull the MSDS sheets from the internet and get a better feel.  Would be a long shot that it is the herbicide application but it is one place to start.  Good Luck!

 

[Joe Boy]

I do not think it was a herbicide, either.  However, I truly think it could have been residue left in the sprayer from some other application.  Especially, since the people would not communicate with you.  Some employees are lazy and they do not take care of the equipment.  I have had similar experiences. 

 

[Joe Boy]

I am sorry, but I hit the tab button and it posted before I even proofed my note.

1.  You have to get samples of calves, cows and plants.

2.  Have them examined by a lab.

3.  Get water samples and soil samples.  There might be an old dump area on the farm where something was buried that is toxic.  You have to find the cause before a lawyer will be interested.

4.  You should even check your feed and supplements.  I bought a gilt for my son to show from a well known breeder in Oklahoma.  He had lots of his pigs returned to him or they died.  Turned out the mineral was the problem.  We had one die of heart failure and when posted the arteries and heart were not developed properly.  The replacement had kidney stones and we lost her when we butchered her.  The breeder won a large lawsuit.

We are all sorry for your loss.

 

[shortdawg]

Paraquat is very lethal right at spraying but evaprates rather quickly - it does it's job fast. I've heard they use MSMA when spraying sometimes and it has arsenic in it.

 

[Joe Boy]

The man that is helping my grandchildren break their calves trains horses and they feed them coastal, which for years was sprayed with MSMA to control grassburs.  He said it makes some horses very ill, others a little and some show no affects.  I have fed coastal to my cows for years that was sprayed with MSMA and never had a cow sick that I knew of......

TESTING is the only way to discover the cause.