Hi Nicola,
I'm not an expert on this but think that a full autopsy might be an
appropriate step to take to determine cause of death for sure. If this
is a Part 2a site that will be going through the legal process, you
would need to demonstrate that whatever it was in the ground/grass that
the cattle ingested/breathed in was definitely the cause of death, not a
contributory factor, otherwise you might be open to challenge at a later
date. What do others think? Including any of the legal experts!!
Coming from a farming family, I'm concerned about the phrase 'came
across 3 dead cattle'. Firstly, 3 is a lot of dead cattle in one day.
Cattle are expensive and usually well looked after. How are the other
cattle? Secondly, were the bodies just lying around and not
cleared/ready for disposal? What is the animal husbandry like at the
farm, what condition were the animals in and what does the farmer think
caused the deaths. Were the deaths sudden or slow? Has a vet been
involved?
Sorry, I realise that's more questions! and you've probably thought of
them anyway ...
Good luck
Anita
Dr Anita Lewis
Environmental Services
Cambridge City Council
Mandela House
4 Regent Street
Cambridge
CB2 1BY
tel. 01223 457926
fax. 01223 457909
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>>> Nicola Rushton <[log in to unmask]> 25/11/2008 14:28
>>>
Hi
Has anyone investigated a potential Part IIA site that has had a
significant
pollutant linkage (or potential significant pollutant linkage)
involving dead
cattle?
We are currently investigating the site of what is effectively a former
landraise. The site is currently a farm and the farmer stocks cattle
on the
land. When we turned up recently to carry out further intrusive
investigation,
we came across three dead cattle (which potentially represents >20%
diminution effect). The cattle are automatically tested for Anthrax
(for free),
but any further clues regarding cause of death are only identified on
request
by the farmer (normally) and the cattle are then subject to further
autopsy at
cost.
Has anyone scheduled such tests before and what tests did you schedule?
I
think that the cattle will not be around for long as there are disposal
issues for
the farmer under ABPO so I need to make a quick decision here
(unfortunately!).
I realise that the deaths could have absolutely nothing to do with the
fact
that the landraise exists, but I would prefer not to miss the chance of
undertaking tests if it means we find a SPL.
Any help would be most welcome.
Nicola
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