environment

Agencies unsure of how to handle cattle

ALEXANDER AROSEMENA/LA PRENSA

Not moving:The government plans to remove the 3,000 cows from Coiba Island. But it has not determined how it will do so, or what will become of them.997984

When the maximum security prison on Coiba Island closed in 1993, one of the things that was left behind was a herd of cattle that the prisoners had raised for food.

Today the herd numbers about 3,000, and the government wants them removed from the island so that its ecosystem is not harmed by the livestock.

But that has turned out to be easier said than done.

While the idea of removing the cows has been around for a while, a concrete plan for how to remove them or what will happen to them has not been resolved.

The government could sell the cattle for food, but they will have to be inspected by a veterinarian first to see if they are fit for consumption.

That inspection won't take place, however, until the cows are shipped off the island. The government plans on soliciting bids for this work, but red tape had held up the process.

Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario (Mida) official Manuel González said that government bureaucracy has prevented the project from moving forward.

One reason is that several agencies are involved in the process. In addition to Mida, the park is administered by the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (Anam) while the cows are the property of the Ministerio de Gobierno y Justicia.

These agencies have to work together to carry out the project, but they have not yet been able to come up with a plan that is acceptable to all agencies. Additionally, they have been unable to find anyone to transport the herd. According to sources, the project has been put out to bid twice, but a suitable candidate for the job has not yet emerged. Another option is slaughtering the animals on the island, then transporting the meat.