CHOICELAND, Saskatchewan, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Canadian veterinarians in Saskatchewan are trying to determine what has mysteriously killed at least 900 goats on one farm since last May.
While Canadian beef farmers took massive losses because of mad cow disease export bans and poultry farmers are nervously guarding against avian flu, goat farmer Dave Smith told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., he's also facing financial ruin from the rash of deaths.
He has operated his farm near Choiceville, in central Saskatchewan, for 13 years, and has had to rent out nearby land to dump the carcasses, almost on a daily basis.
Smith said he's gone to veterinarians, who couldn't help him. But last week, he managed to arrange autopsies for some of his animals at the provincial veterinary college in Saskatoon.
While results aren't expected for some time, Smith said he's in bad financial straits.
"We're done. We've probably lost $90,000 between what we owe and the income we're not going to have," he said.
