The last cows from a runaway Holstein herd in Quebec were captured and returned home Saturday, local farmers’ union UPA Mauricie said.
The herd of more than 20 dairy cows had been on the run since July when they were spooked by a summer thunderstorm on a dairy farm near St. Barnabas, near Trois Rivières, Que.
From then on, they happily grazed wherever they pleased—and wreaked havoc on the fields of nearby farmers.
But since last month, UPA Mauricie has been leading efforts to capture the cows.
An enclosure was set up in early December to attract the cows with food, said Jean-Sébastien Dubé, director of communications for the Fédération de l’UPA de la Mauricie.
“With a feeding point inside the enclosure, the goal was to get the animals inside the enclosure and have them adopt different feeding regimes,” Dube said, adding that the weather was on their side, with winter bringing cold temperatures and snow covering other possible food sources.
“Food was less available on the ground, so it made the cows more dependent on the food we provided.”
One of the enclosures created to catch the escaped Holsteins. Jean-Sébastien Dubé says about 20 people were involved in the effort. (Submitted by Jean-Sébastien Dubé)
In December, they captured four cows. UPA Mauricie now says it has recovered 13 cows and two calves that were born during the cows’ time of lambing. Dube says about 20 people helped capture the animals.
Just in case: enclosures until Wednesday
Jean-Yves Saint-Arnaud, the mayor of Saint-Sévère, says he is happy to hear that the efforts of UPA Mauricie, along with the help of the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, have been successful.
“My first reaction was that I was very happy and satisfied with the situation. But also with a bit of caution,” Saint-Arnaud said, adding that he wanted to make sure they didn’t count the Holsteins.
“We asked [them] to leave the pens by Wednesday, thinking there might be two or three more cows, in case our calculations were wrong. Some people said there were 24 cows, others said 27 or 28.”
Cows adapt well to farm life
Dube says the animals appear to be in good shape and are back on the farm.
“We had cattle production experts visit the farm before the animals were returned to ensure optimum conditions. And since they’ve come back, they’ve adapted super well,” Dube said
Their owner, Pierre Lapointe, a dairy farmer in Saint Barnabas, says the cows are kept in the barn so they can get used to the other animals.
He expects they will be able to return to the fields next summer once they get used to the fences and herd life.
Tens of thousands of dollars in damages
The cows’ adventures may have seemed heroic or funny to the public, but St-Arnaud says it was quite serious for some local farmers.
He estimated that runaway cows caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage as they trampled or ate crops under the cover of darkness.
“When it comes to corn, they eat the top half of it and leave the bottom half and then the rain gets into it,” Saint-Arnaud said. “So harvest [is] totally lost.”
Parts of farmers’ cornfields were flattened by the herd. (Submitted by Jean-Yves St-Arnaud)
He says about seven farmers contacted him in late October about the situation, but the village – population 812 – was initially unable to help because it was private property.
“When animals remain on private property, we as a municipality cannot intervene,” said Saint-Arnaud. “Around the last week of October … we started asking questions and got involved when we found out they were on the road.”
Although the next step was to contact government organizations such as the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Forests, Fauna and Parks, Saint-Arnaud said the city has received conflicting answers — about whose jurisdiction covers feral cows.
The arrest comes after rodeo cowboys failed in October
The capture of the cows follows a botched mission in October involving eight Saint-Tite cowboys. St-Arnaud said the mission was Plan Z, a last resort, with the crew working long 12-hour days.
“They loaned us six-foot barriers so the cows wouldn’t jump over them, and eight cowboys and a drone operator. We were well equipped,” Saint-Arnaud said.
Cowboys from St. Titus unsuccessfully tried to capture and return 20 cows that had been on the run since July. (Submitted by Jean-Yves St-Arnaud)
Although the cowboys appeared to have triumphed with the cows successfully penned, one managed to escape. Everything went south from there and the herd was free again.
“They gathered in the cornfields and in the woods and we lost them,” Saint-Arnaud said.
He said the community was happy that the situation was now under control. One of St-Arnaud’s main concerns was how the cows posed a great risk to drivers.
“At the moment there is no more danger, the cows are gone. We’re getting back to normal,” Saint-Arnaud said.
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