Mysterious Cattle Deaths in Orange County
Orange County, Va (United States):
More than fifty cows have died on a farm in orange county and the cause of their deaths remains a mystery.
“I've never heard of an event that severe that killed that many. We all experience a time when we lose one or two but 57 is unheard of,” said Monk Sanborn, an
Orange County farmerOne hundred and sixty cows were grazing on this pasture along Route 20 in Orange and earlier this month, more than 30 percent of those cows turned up dead. What’s more, many expecting cows aborted their calves.
“There's a lot of speculation of what the cause could be. It’s going to be determined by testing and there's some feeling we may never know for sure, said Sanborn. The field where the cows grazed had been fertilized two weeks earlier. But the lab report came back inconclusive, pointing not to the fertilizer but to some sort of a toxin, possibly a poisonous plant. “Of course, they were without water for a while and I’m sure that added to the problem,” said Sanborn. Even though farmers in Orange may never know exactly what caused so many cows to die, there is some consolation knowing it won't affect their farms.
Lab tests have ruled out any infectious or contagious diseases.
“If it was something contagious, I would worry but this isn't a contagious disease it's a one field outbreak of whatever it was,” said Sanborn.
Sept19, 2005
Lisa Ferrari, WCAV, VA
http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/news/headlines/1
727871.html
Orange County, Va (United States):
More than fifty cows have died on a farm in orange county and the cause of their deaths remains a mystery.
“I've never heard of an event that severe that killed that many. We all experience a time when we lose one or two but 57 is unheard of,” said Monk Sanborn, an
Orange County farmerOne hundred and sixty cows were grazing on this pasture along Route 20 in Orange and earlier this month, more than 30 percent of those cows turned up dead. What’s more, many expecting cows aborted their calves.
“There's a lot of speculation of what the cause could be. It’s going to be determined by testing and there's some feeling we may never know for sure, said Sanborn. The field where the cows grazed had been fertilized two weeks earlier. But the lab report came back inconclusive, pointing not to the fertilizer but to some sort of a toxin, possibly a poisonous plant. “Of course, they were without water for a while and I’m sure that added to the problem,” said Sanborn. Even though farmers in Orange may never know exactly what caused so many cows to die, there is some consolation knowing it won't affect their farms.
Lab tests have ruled out any infectious or contagious diseases.
“If it was something contagious, I would worry but this isn't a contagious disease it's a one field outbreak of whatever it was,” said Sanborn.
Sept19, 2005
Lisa Ferrari, WCAV, VA
http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/news/headlines/1
727871.html
