The mad cow crisis is being partly blamed for the deaths of more than 200 cattle at a central Alberta feedlot that had recently been seized by a bank.

The cattle were found dying or dead on the feedlot late last week, just days after the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce took it over and left it to be run by a receiver, Deloitte and Touche.

The feedlot's former owner, Rick Bonnett, said he lost the operation because he fell millions of dollars into debt after the bovine spongiform encephalopathy scare prompted the U.S. to close its border to Canadian beef and cattle.

The cattle died on the Alberta feedlot because they were fed an incorrect mix of feed, a veterinarian says.
The cattle died on the Alberta feedlot because they were fed an incorrect mix of feed, a veterinarian says.

Bonnett said the animals were in good shape when he handed them over at the feedlot near Ponoka, a town 95 kilometres south of Edmonton. He expressed shock that so many cattle died so suddenly.

"We're in debt to them, but when you expect to have professionals brought in and cattle to be fed, you expect that they're going to do ... what they need to do to keep the cattle alive."

Kee Jim, a veterinarian called in Sunday to investigate the case, said the animals were incorrectly fed barley and barley silage, causing bloating and ultimately death.

"It becomes like a massive stomach ache, but in cattle that proves to be fatal as they digest too much grain."

But Greg Stevens, a senior vice-president of Deloitte and Touche, denied that the company hired to manage the feedlot made any mistakes and said they were given incorrect feed information.

Stevens, who estimated that the total losses tallied up to about $150,000, promised that the deaths would be fully investigated.

"Anybody would be upset to see dead animals. We've just got to get to the bottom of what happened and prevent any further losses."

Animal welfare officials from the province's SPCA have also launched an investigation.

The country's cattle industry was devastated by American decision to close its border to Canadian beef and cattle imports in 2003, after one animal with BSE was discovered on an Alberta farm.

The crisis is estimated to have cost the industry millions of dollars.

U.S. officials recently announced plans to reopen the border to young live cattle and beef from Canada beginning March 7, despite the confirmation of a second case of BSE in Alberta in January.