B.C. agriculture minister asks farmers not to risk their lives to reach flood-stranded animals

Story Transcript

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham says she understands that farmers are desperate to reach their starving and injured livestock in flood-ravaged parts of the province, but she's asking them not to put themselves in harm's way by crossing police-enforced roadblocks.

Thousands of animals have died as a result of severe flooding on farmlands in southern B.C., and many more remain stranded on evacuated properties with no access to food or clean water. Some were injured in the flooding and require veterinary assistance. 

Some farmers have been crossing roadblocks or defying evacuation orders in order to tend to their livestock, but are being stopped by RCMP, the Canadian Press reports.

Popham says the province is doing everything it can to help, including air-dropping food and water for livestock, and opening waterways for farmers to reach their animals. Here is part of her conversation with As It Happens host Carol Off.

What are you doing right now to get food and water to farmers for their animals and Abbotsford and the rest of the Fraser Valley?

We are securing and have secured airdrops of food and water to farmers that have been cut off. But it's also about securing food that can be eventually trucked in.

Securing the roads, that's a big job, too. So when can farmers expect this assistance to arrive?

I have chatted with the mayor in Abbotsford this morning, and I know that there [are] safety checks being done currently on some of the roads that will help some of these farmers that are cut off get online, hopefully as soon as today.

You have heard, I'm sure, that many of these farmers [are saying they] would die for their animals, and they're trying to protect them. At the same time, there are evacuation orders in many of these places for their own safety. What are you advising the farmers to do?

I don't think that any of us can really understand the pain that these farmers are feeling right now as they're being kept away from their animals. We've got animals that haven't had food and water for days. There's farmers that know they need to get back in just even to deal with euthanization issues. And so it's a desperate situation and it's painful.

But there are really dangerous situations right now with the roadways. And so we are not encouraging farmers to cross into those dangerous areas, although we completely understand why they're doing it. 

There are different routes that farmers are being able to take, and that's by boat through the floodways.

We're just hoping the waters are receding today, and the mayor said that there might be some good news on that front. And as these roadways emerge, immediately they're being safety checked, and then …. light vehicles will be allowed through.

You've heard, I'm sure, from the farmers in Abbotsford who are defying those evacuation orders in order to take care of their animals. And they say they're very angry that they're being stopped by police from getting back to their farms. And so is that really the best policy, that authorities should be doing this when these farmers are going to go through any method in order to get to those animals?

It's understandable that the farmers want to get past those lines, but the lines are there for safety reasons. And so I think in any disastrous situation — we saw this, as well, in the fire season that we had — we want to make sure we're protecting the lives of folks. But farmers are trying to protect their animals, so it's a very difficult mix, and hopefully that will start to be alleviated today.

You also have food shortages: shelves that are empty for people who want food. And you have animals that need to be supplied. So how are you balancing that? What are the priorities?

There's some of our supply chain that looks like it was having difficulties reaching certain areas. Those are coming back online, so our food supply is secure.

Of course, our priority is to get folks food where they need [it], especially in the Fraser Valley. But the Ministry of Agriculture is very focused on trying to get water and feed to the livestock. And so we're doing that. We had helicopters dropping off water and food yesterday, and that'll continue through today.

What's the problem with the water [on farms]?

The water lines have been shut off in many local government areas, and so that normal water lines that get water to barns were disconnected. The [floodwater] that's surrounding those farms is contaminated now.... I did hear yesterday that some livestock was drinking that water and then perished not very long after. 

We need fresh clean water to those farms that are cut off. We saw many of them come back online with the local water system yesterday, and that will continue through today. But we have been working with the dairy association [and] the poultry association, and asked them to prioritize which farms need water first. And that's the list we're working with.

The farmers have been told to dump their milk at this point because they can't get that milk to market. And I know thousands of animals have died in the flooding. You mentioned the euthanasia that they're going to have to perform on some of the other animals that did survive. Can you just tell us a bit about the kinds of calls you're getting from farmers? 

There's just really tragic situations. So some of the animals that have survived are not healthy or they've been injured, and those have to be euthanized. In fact, that is taking place. But then we do have animals that have survived that their health is compromised, but they need care and they'll be fine.

One interesting thing is that we've seen, specifically, the dairy industry out in Chilliwack get together and they've been going from dairy to dairy at some of these compromised farms, and they've been moving some of the cows into other dairies. And so they've got buddy dairies that are taking in hundreds of cows. One farmer and his daughter helped move 500 dairy cows on to other dry farms. 

Those cows, specifically, are being moved into other dairies. They're going back into the milking parlours, and they're just fine. And so we see the resilience of farmers, but we also see the resilience of these farm animals. And so there are some good news stories that are emerging in the middle of extreme devastation.

Written by Sheena Goodyear with files from The Canadian Press. Interview produced by Chris Harbord. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.