Agriculture and Forestry Minister Eric Hammill said today he has met with the operator of the dead livestock removal service to discuss options which could lead to the resumption of services and improve the level of use by producers. Based on initial discussions, the operator of the service, Nick Peconi, said he is prepared to start receiving dead livestock delivered by producers to his plant in Stanchel.
"I will be requesting that the new Farm Practices Review Board establish a code of practice for the handling of dead livestock," said Mr. Hammill. "The livestock industry will have input into the code which will define acceptable practices. The Board, made up of farmers and non-farmers, will review the input in finalizing the code. Certainly the availability of a removal service is a preferred approach."
Mr. Hammill said that the process provides the industry with an opportunity to cooperate in dealing with the issue, and that if the process does not result in the adoption of good practices, government will consider other options, including legislation.
In the meantime, Mr. Peconi said that he is prepared to resume a partial service, which for the time being will rely on producers delivering dead livestock to his processing plant. He said he will be asking the department and the livestock organizations for help to increase the level of interest in the service and to start a list of producers who would subscribe to a pick-up service. "Given the added costs of operating the pick-up service, I want to assess whether the level of industry participation will increase before deciding whether to resume the pick-up service on a limited or Island-wide basis," said Mr. Peconi.
The removal service, operated by Nick and Judy Peconi, was terminated in early November. The resumption of a limited service provides the livestock industry with another option to dispose of livestock as winter approaches.