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INVESTIGATION CONTINUES INTO JEFFERSON COUNTY CATTLE DEATHS
State and federal officials are continuing a cooperative investigation into the death of approximately 90 cattle at a Jefferson County farm that apparently consumed considerable amounts of Aztec, a pesticide used to protect corn crops from insects.
No other unusual livestock deaths have been reported and there is no threat to human health or the environment, according to West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass.
“Given the current threats to our nation and the suspicious nature of the deaths, it would have been irresponsible of me not to consider the possibility of agroterrorism. I immediately notified the appropriate officials of the situation, relayed the information that had been gathered by my staff up to that point, and requested activation of the National Incident Management System,” Commissioner Douglass said.
“However, the ongoing investigations point toward accidental poisoning, or an isolated intentional criminal act. There is no evidence at all of a terror-related act.”
Initial investigations at the farm revealed Aztec in a cattle feeder that was supposed to contain mineral supplements. Although the packaging of Aztec and the mineral supplement are quite different, the products themselves look similar.
Extensive testing done by the WVDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed that the mineral supplement in question is safe and that water supplies on the farm are uncontaminated. FDA has also said that the dead cattle that were taken to a rendering plant in Virginia pose no threat to human or animal health. The investigation is ongoing to determine the possibility of an isolated, intentional crime.
“The effort to trace all the threads of this incident has been a cooperative one, and I applaud all the agencies involved for their prompt and professional response,” Commissioner Douglass added.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
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