Richard (Butch) Clare and his son, Jay, have escaped three
fines imposed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency over the identification of
cattle.
The CFIA alleges that the Clares switched an RFID tag
intended for a 13-year-old Simmental cow culled by Ed Hasson to a cow in the
Clare feedlot that was less than three years old and exported to the United
States.
But Donald Buckingham, chairman of the Canada Agricultural
Review Tribunal wrote in his decision this month that the CFIA was unable to
present “a single shred of evidence” to prove that the Clares switched the RFID
tag.
The testimony indicates that the cow left the Hasson farm
without the tag applied. Hasson gave the tag in a plastic pouch to the trucker
who delivered her to OLEX sales barn north of Waterloo.
Clare bought the cow along with a number of other cattle.
He claims the tag must have been switched at OLEX. An OLEX
employee testified that it’s possible that’s where the mixup occurred.
Butch Clare is notorious for running deadstock through the
Aylmer Meats packing plant he operated near Burford.
The plant was shut down after a raid by inspectors found the
deadstock in the plant and Clare was convicted.
He continues to operate as one of the more significant
buyers of cull cows at OLEX. Most are either exported almost immediately or
moved to the feedlot near Burford operated by Jay Clare.
As far as I'm concerned, Butch Clare ought to be banned for life for having anything to do with livestock or food production.
