Thursday, September 16, 2010

Farmuseum Raided: Meat Trafficking Suspected

September 16, 2036

Farmuseum Raided: Meat Trafficking Suspected

By Justin Terranova, The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG - Residents of a quiet Winnipeg suburb are in shock today after police raided a Registered Farm Animal Preserve, uncovering evidence of an illegal meat trafficking operation.

Police were tipped off by an unidentified employee of the Crescentwood Heritage Farm Animal Preserve and Education Centre, one of 175 nationally accredited farmuseums in Canada.

“We discovered a hidden onsite abattoir and the remains of at least half a dozen animals, including cows, pigs and poultry,” said Winnipeg police spokesperson Darius McIntyre. “Our informant claims the meat is being sold into the illegal meat market, and we are vigorously pursuing her lead.”

Cassandra Chernowski has lived near the Crescentwood centre since 2029. “This is a cherished family place, a wonderful farmuseum where my children have spent many, many happy hours with some of nature’s dearest creatures," Chernowski said. "I am so sickened that some of these animals were being murdered for their meat.”

Non-medicinal meat has been illegal in Canada since 2025 when parliament passed Bill 725, banning the killing of animals for food or fibre, except for medical necessity, subsistence or survival. Although a dozen small medicinal meat farms were licensed by the federal government, only a handful remain.

“Because of the health adequacy for most Canadians of meat, fish, dairy and egg substitutes, nutritional supplements and medicinal eggs and dairy products from no-kill farmuseums, only seven animals were legally killed for meat in Canada last year,” the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement released today.

In the United States, which passed similar legislation in 2024, 37 animals were legally killed for meat last year. Worldwide, the number of countries where the non-medicinal production of meat is still legal has shrunk to 24. In 2029, the historic Animal Rights and Welfare Declaration of the United Nations Parliamentary Assembly condemned the practice, although the declaration is not yet legally binding.

Since 2029, processed human waste, or humanure, has become the most widely used agricultural fertilizer in Canada and most other countries, all but replacing animal-based fertilizer and largely replacing artificial fertilizers, too, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

“We used to buy eggs from the Crescentwood farmuseum every Christmas,” said Ms. Chernowski. “They’re very expensive, but my grandparents love them. We always assumed the hens were lovingly cared for. But now... The children are so upset.”