Canadian farmers are being hailed as heroes after rescuing hundreds of cows from lakes and rivers — often after a month’s worth of rain — in the wake of torrential rains.
Ben Clymer, the president of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association, told CTV News that family members helped to load 60 to 80 cows from lakes on Saturday.
“I think what a lot of people don’t understand is that our central province is a cattle producing region, it’s an agricultural area,” Clymer said. “It’s not just grazing land for the American wheat field or rice or whatever.”
Clymer said the total number of animals that drowned was likely less than 200.
However, North of the border, an actual rescue took place, according to Canada’s CBC News. Forty-five horses in Vermont were swept into a swollen creek.
“When we go down there, you can basically hear the horses yelling for help. They’re all trying to get out of there,” Sandy Thorpe, from Comstock Memorial, Vermont, told CBC News. “They can’t walk out, they can’t run out of there. It’s taking all the courage they have to pull out.”
A horse’s head and shoulders are raised above the muddy waterline. pic.twitter.com/AnzTJnIBhN — Rob Malone (@tvrmalone) September 11, 2018
While the floods in Canada were not strong enough to kill the animals, they were record-setting. The rainy conditions created major problems for farmers who are now harvesting crops.
The Alberta Cattlemen’s Association estimated the damages caused by heavy rainfall in the province to exceed $90 million.
“It’s one of those once in a life time events for our farmers and ranchers,” said Jeremy Rosier, vice president of government relations for the Alberta Cattlemen’s Association. “I hope that this is a lesson that Canada comes together and provides federal and provincial government assistance.”