2
DAIRY owners fined In addition, Wesley
Kooyman is prohibited from serving as a director or officer of Chilliwack Cattle Sales or caring for the farm’s cattle, save feeding them with supervision, for one year. Gunnell told the court that he wanted to send a very clear message to the public that the abuse of animals was reprehensible and simply not acceptable.
The fines reinforced the “shame, embarrassment and public condemnation” the family had suffered since the matter became public, which he believed were sufficient to prevent a repeat of the situation.
“From what I have heard, I expect specific deterrence is not an issue here,” he said.
Not responsible
However, Gunnell acknowledged that the Kooymans were not actively responsible for the abuse. It wasn’t because of what they did that the animals suffered but what they neglected to do – specifically, ensure proper training of
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employees and enforce the standards set out in the guide book developed for farm employees.
“This business did not properly train and supervise their employees,” Gunnell said. “They had no real system checks set up so that the safety of the animals was ensured and they failed to follow through on their own guide book that was available and that we know at least one employee was never given a copy of.”
The result, according to Crown counsel Jim MacAulay, was “a culture abuse” – one that the family has repeatedly denied knowing about since the first revelations of how workers were treating their animals.
Chilliwack Cattle Sales has since improved hiring and training procedures, noting in a statement that it’s hired a full-time human resource manager “to ensure a consistent and methodical approach to hiring, training, supervising and evaluating staff.”
DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH SPACE TO DO YOUR JOB SAFELY?
www.AgSafeBC.ca
All farm workers, both family and employees, now receive specialized training in handling dairy cattle. Surveillance equipment was also installed to ensure that workers are supervised at all times. Video cameras can be checked remotely, even from a smartphone.
“In addition, we have set a goal to have a family member or senior manager monitor every shift to ensure employees are acting in accordance with industry
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codes of practice,” said Wesley Kooyman in a statement released to media following the sentencing. “On behalf of the Kooyman family, I accept the judgment of the court and we vow to do everything we can to prevent anything like this from happening again,” he said.
More court appearances
December’s fines aren’t the end of the saga, however. Seven employees charged with abusing the Kooymans’ animals – Brad Genereux, Travis Keefer, Cody Larson, Jonathan Talbot, Chris Vandyke, Jamie Visser and Lloyd Blackwell – will appear in court this spring. Three of the men – Visser, VanDyke and Keefer – are expected to plead guilty in April. A 12-day trial for the remaining four will begin May 29 and tentatively wrap up June 15.
WATER licensing
conducted numerous workshops to assist producers in registering their wells, few have taken up the offer. As of the first week of January, the MoE had received only about 500 existing groundwater licence applications and about 50 new groundwater licence applications.
An informal poll at the Mainland Milk Producers confirmed the lack of interest. About a third of the meeting attendees indicated they had
wells on their farms but none had yet registered them. The government has therefore extended the application fee waiver to December 31 to encourage more users to register their wells.
“We have been working with different groups and listening to them and one thing they asked for is a date that’s easy to remember,” says MoE water strategies and conservation manager Ted White.
COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • FEBRUARY 2017
Collaborative effort on dairy safety initiative
by PETER MITHAM
ABBOTSFORD – Keeping dairy farm workers safe is the goal of a new initiative WorkSafeBC, AgSafe and the BC Dairy Association launched in December. An increase in the number of work-related deaths and serious injuries dairy workers experience over the past decade led to the program. Between 2006 to 2015, six work-related deaths and 126 serious injuries occurred on BC dairy farms.
In 2015, the injury rate was 2.5 per 100 workers, up from just two in 2012. Days lost to injury in the sector totaled 2,963, with claims costs last year totaling
$1.7 million.
Animals account for a third of injuries on BC dairy farms, while working surfaces account for a fifth of injuries.
Buildings, equipment and vehicles together account for a fifth of all injuries, too.
“Dairy farms are one of the most diverse working environments, and workplace hazards are not always animal related,” said Tadhg O’Leary, an agricultural safety advisor with AgSafe when the program was announced. “It’s a farmer’s
responsibility to eliminate those hazards by developing a comprehensive workplace safety plan.”
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The government expects most users to register their wells online through
Have you heard?
You can avoid the application fee by licensing your groundwater well before December 31 2017. YES! The deadline to submit applications has been extended.
If you have questions we can help.
[
www.frontcounterbc.ca]. The ministry has also posted a detailed application guide to walk producers through the registration process. However, at 69 pages, the guide can seem overwhelming. To make it easier, BC Cattlemen’s Association water sub- committee chair Linda Allison condensed the information into an easy-to-read eight- page guide based on her experience registering her own well. The guide is available from the BCCA office in Kamloops.
Producers not willing to go it alone can complete the registration at a number of FrontCounter BC office locations in the province. MoE staff encourage anyone interested in going that route book time with staff and determine what information they should bring with them to start the application.
Not simple “This is not a simple
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process. It is being simplified but there is still room for improvement,” says BC Agriculture Council executive director Reg Ens.
Meanwhile, the MoE continues to refine the definition of a well and is working with industry to develop workable polices and regulations regarding livestock watering and creating dedicated water reserves for agriculture.
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