Drought-stricken Canadian ranchers forced to slaughter breeding cattle

The beef cattle herd in B.C. has been in steep decline over the past five years and ranchers are selling off breeding stock for slaughter, mainly due to persistent drought in the province's Interior and the North, according to the B.C. Cattlemen's Association. "The herd dropped by seven per cent between July 2009 and July 2010 ... and I would bet it has dropped another seven per cent since July," said B.C. Cattlemen's Association general manager Kevin Boon. "A lot of guys have been losing money since BSE [mad cow disease] and are selling in bigger numbers or their whole herd," Boon said. "We are getting down to about half what we had from our peak time." The association worries a shortage of breeding stock could leave the industry years from recovery once conditions improve...more