20,979: the Lost Cows of Britain
UK - Officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) admitted in Parliamentary questions that 20,979 British animals had been mislaid.
13 October 2008
1 minute read
According to The Telegraph, the livestock should have been logged on Defra's Cattle Tracing System, devised to protect public and animal health after the BSE and foot and mouth epidemics.
However the cattle have disappeared from the system, while another 1039 are believed to have been loaded onto cattle trucks and never heard of again, according to the Daily Star.
Jonathan Shaw, Defra minister, was forced to admit the embarrassing blunder in response to a Parliamentary question, reports The Telegraph.
Peter Ainsworth, the Shadow Environment secretary, said he was astonished at the loss.
"Laptops, data, and now cows, is there anything this Government can not misplace?" he told the Daily Star.
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