Cattle rustling comes to Quebec as police investigate suspected theft of entire herd
Jonathan Fortin woke up Friday morning to check on his herd of Black Angus cattle, only to find his field was empty.
Fortin, who co-owns Ferme ForThe in Quebec's Eastern Townships, said he initially thought his calves and cows might have got loose, but the presence of tire tracks and a fence that appeared to have been dismantled led him to conclude that something more sinister had occurred.
"All my herd -- close to 75 animals -- were stolen," he said in an interview Monday.
Quebec provincial police confirmed they're investigating what appears to be a case of modern cattle rustling. Police spokesman Louis-Philippe Ruel confirmed police opened a criminal investigation after arriving at the farm in Cookshire-Eaton, Que., on Friday and finding the cattle had "disappeared."
Ruel didn't say how police were planning to retrace the herd, but he noted the thieves would need to have access to equipment and a place to put the animals.
"You can't move that many livestock in a Honda Civic or a Toyota Corolla," he said in a phone interview.
Fortin figures the cattle were taken between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, while he was out working his second job. He said neighbours later reported seeing trailer lights and hearing a commotion in his field, but at the time they assumed it was buyers coming to pick up cattle.
He said the loss of about $200,000 worth of livestock represents a good portion of his savings and four hard years of work building up his farm.
"There's a lot of emotion, because even if it's a new business, it's still all the work and the life savings," he said. "To have a herd of that size, there were a lot of sacrifices that were made, it means sometimes working two jobs, things like that."
Fortin says it isn't easy to load dozens of cattle into trailers, but it's not impossible for someone with experience. He said the animals are marked by tags, but he believes thieves would be able to remove them.
While he's heard stories about stolen cattle, he never thought his entire herd could be taken all at once. He said thefts usually involve individual calves that are taken by people who want to raise them for meat.
Fortin is still hopeful police will be able to find his lost animals, which weren't insured against theft. If not, he says he'll have to rebuild his herd two or three animals at a time, while pushing back his plans to give up his second job to farm full-time.
"For sure it's very difficult physically, and even more so morally, because we're restarting at zero," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 27, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Loblaw to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.
EXCLUSIVE One address, 76 foreign currency dealers: Inside Canada's money service business 'clusters'
An IJF and CTV News investigation has found dozens of cases across Canada where multiple money services businesses (MSBs) are incorporated at the same address, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the location's actual occupant. One money laundering expert calls it an 'abuse of the system.'
An unwelcome attendee has joined the Paris Olympic Games: COVID-19
After a handful of Australian water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 this week, questions have emerged around how the spread of the disease will be mitigated at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.