Dorchester cattle dealer gets $12,000 fine

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

Practices that led to the conviction of a Dorchester man under two provincial acts do not reflect the normal standards of Ontario’s cattle industry, says a spokesman with the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association.

Last month, Walter DeKruyff, operator of Kruyffland Cattle & Company, pleaded guilty to two counts under the Livestock and Livestock Products Act of engaging in business as a livestock dealer without a licence and one count under the Food Safety and Quality Act of moving a fallen animal before it was killed, states a Monday news release from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. DeKruyff made the pleas on May 2 and 26 in the Ontario Courts of Justice in Kitchener and St. Thomas, respectively.

The case represents “an unfortunate incident which does not reflect industry practices as a whole and sheds a negative light on both producers and dealers in this province,” says Richard Horne, policy advisor for the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association on Tuesday. The industry upholds “incredibly high” standards that comply with government legislation, he says.

 DeKruyff could not be located for comment.
 
The provincial news release says that in 2010, DeKruyff and his business sold 97 cattle at the Ontario Livestock Exchange as well as 154 cattle at the Aylmer Stockyards Inc. and bought 23 head of cattle that same year.

The Kitchener court also found that he was responsible for trucking a Holstein cow owned by his company to the Ontario Livestock Exchange that went down in the unloading area, was unable to get up and had to be euthanized by an OMAFRA inspector. A post mortem examination confirmed the cow was compromised and should not have been transported.

The Disposal of Deadstock Regulation under the province’s Food Safety and Quality Act prohibits the entry of a sick or dead animal into the human food chain and bans moving a fallen animal before it is euthanized.

DeKruyff has been ordered to pay more than $12,000 in fines. The St. Thomas court also sentenced him to 12 months probation. BF