HGP Nightly News – Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed is raising fresh alarm over the imported Brazilian cattle stranded at Ibini, claiming several pregnant heifers have died while others remain trapped in trucks without proper veterinary attention.
Speaking from the site at about 5:19 p.m., Mohamed said he and others had been at the location for more than two hours and had not seen any veterinarians present to check or care for the animals.
He said this was despite a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture defending the movement of the cattle and outlining what he said were supposed safeguards.
According to Mohamed, residents reported that more than 12 pregnant heifers had already died on the opposite side of the Berbice River.
He also claimed that one animal died while they were broadcasting live, while five more appeared close to dying.
Mohamed further said two calves had been born inside the trucks while the animals remained confined.
The cattle shipment has already triggered a political clash, with APNU and other opposition voices questioning whether the animals were properly cleared, whether Ibini was always their intended destination, and why no suitable barge was reportedly ready to move the trucks across the river.
WIN Executive Member Mark Goring also called for urgent intervention from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Guyana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Goring described the situation as cruelty to animals, saying the pregnant heifers had been kept for days in hot, metal-plated trucks.
He claimed that almost 14 or 15 animals had already died, with several others near death.
According to Goring, the animals had been in Guyana’s jurisdiction for six days, and if the trucks were not moved that night, they would spend a seventh day trapped in those conditions.
He also pointed to what he described as logistical chaos at the landing, including a broken-down excavator and attempts to use a government vehicle to pull equipment through the mud.
Goring questioned whether the trucks would be able to cross before nightfall.
The shipment, estimated by opposition representatives to involve about 300 animals worth around G$100 million, is part of a widening row over the government’s livestock importation programme.
The Ministry of Agriculture has previously said the cattle are part of the National Herd Expansion Programme and that the animals were legally procured, inspected, tested, and cleared before export from Brazil.
But Mohamed and Goring are now calling for immediate answers about the condition of the animals, the reported deaths, the absence of veterinarians, and the handling of the transfer to Ibini.
