The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed that it is investigating a site on Crown land in the RM of Wawken for potential use of livestock carcass disposal should an emergency arise. However, the ministry says there is no guarantee that the site will be deemed suitable, or, if deemed suitable, would ever be used.
The site is located northwest of Wawota near Little Pipestone Creek.
“The ministry will continue to work and engage with the RM and the Crown land lease holder once more information is available from the engineering investigation; there is a possibility that the site identified may never be used or, upon completion of the investigation, may not be deemed suitable,” said government spokesperson Jamie Shanks.
“The proposed site is not intended for the disposal of diseased or infected carcasses, and would be for emergency situations only.”
There are provincial requirements for intensive livestock operations and the burial of animals under the Agricultural Operations Act and Agricultural Operations Regulations, including the protection of water resources related to livestock disposal.
Residents in the RM of Wawken have raised questions about the site in the RM which is in a sloughy area, and if chosen, could be used for a burial pit for livestock should a mass cull event occur.
“From what we understand, the provincial government was out doing some soil testing in January, and from what we understand it’s merely a proposed potential emergency disposal site,” said Kevin Kay, Mayor of Wawota—a community just south of the land in question.
“This particular site is right in the middle of the wetlands, so it really is not a good site for what they’re proposing.”
Kay noted there have not been any consultation meetings consistent with plans to develop.
“The key word is emergency. They’re just looking,” he said. “There are disposal sites that are being used right now, but these would be used as emergency disposal sites.”
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