Mr. Speaker, my riding of Wild Rose probably has one of the largest cattle ranching areas in the country. It is a very successful operation.
Cattlemen go through their herds on a fairly regular basis to find animals that have defects. It could be lump jaw caused by some weed. It could be a cancerous eye, a hoof disease or any reason at all that would cause the animal to be culled and sent to auction.
I can tell the minister that when the animals arrive at the auction there is always an investigation regarding farmers and ranchers keeping a cow in distress. That is a common charge brought forward by the SPCA. They do what they can with the animals when they are sold at the auction but inevitably there will be a charge brought forward and the farmers will be charged for keeping animals in distress. In every case the farmers went ahead and paid the fine.