UC Rusal given two weeks to remedy condition of starving cattle

11:34 am, Tue January 31, 2023

UC Rusal has been given a two-week deadline to stabilize the estimated 400 cows recently discovered starving on its property in Kirkvine, Manchester.

An emergency meeting was held on Monday, involving the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, members of the UC Rusal management team, along with representatives from the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, JSPCA.

According to the Ministry, a decision was made to institute several measures to address the condition of the animals.

UC Rusal was asked to stabilize the animals via prophylactic treatment and supportive therapy and to provide updates on the progress over the next two weeks.

A team from the Ministry and JSPCA will be closely monitoring the situation.

The Agriculture Ministry says if adequate actions are not taken to alleviate the situation on site, the animals will be confiscated and placed at a government monitored quarantine facility and treated with the appropriate remediation.

Meanwhile consideration is also being given to laying charges against the management of UC Rusal under the Cruelty to animals Act.

The Jamaica Agricultural Society is also questioning why UC Rusal was allowed to manage the cows despite the company stating from the outset that it was not interested in Agriculture.

JAS President Lenworth Fulton told Radio Jamaica News that it is important to know whether cattle on other farms operated by the company are similarly affected.

US Rusal, a Russian company, got involved in Jamaica's bauxite-alumina sector two decades ago, and inherited a legacy of cattle rearing on sections of mining reserves not currently being mined.

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