“Sacrificial Lamb?” CFIA to kill last remaining Shropshire lamb from Montana Jones’ flock today Aug. 24

This just in via Michael Schmidt:

The CFIA kill-team want the last word. They are scheduled to slaughter the last Shropshire lamb at the Wholearth Farm, Hastings, ON. Today Thursday Aug.24. (CFIA are regularly escorted by multiple OPP & armed Nat.Resources personnel.). The 4 month old lamb’s only ‘crime’ is symbolically being the last innocent survivor from the wrongly-accused flock of heritage Shropshire sheep that ‘went missing’ in April 2012.

Here’s a link to the National Post story about how the sheepnapping court case involving Michael Schmidt, Montana Jones, the CFIA, and other parties ended: http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/shepherd-wins-six-year-legal-fight-to-keep-flock-of-rare-sheep-from-government-slaughter

Some backstory from Montana Jones:

Did infected sheep come from U.S.?

This was the story from February 2015 that appeared around the time of the start of pre-trial hearings in the sheep-napping conspiracy case involving Michael Schmidt and Montana Jones. Once the presiding judge slapped a publication ban on the proceedings, the National Post took down this story. But now that the case is closed — it was thrown out due to having taken too long to come to trial — reporters can again report on it, and the National Post have put the story back up.

Montana Jones and one of her threatened Shropshires, earlier on in the long saga. This photo from Ursula Fugger (Shropshiresheep.org) was used in the National Post story.

From Adrian Humphreys in the National Post:

“The bizarre case of a flock of rare sheep — purportedly stolen from an Ontario farm by agricultural activists to thwart a federal kill order during a disease scare — was adjourned after government documents suggested the infected sheep that sparked the high-profile standoff could have actually been an animal from the United States.

Farmed and Dangerous — a review of the Montana Jones / CFIA sheep saga

From Edible Toronto magazine:

From woolly sheep and bucolic farm life to criminal charges and gag orders.
I look around some days and wonder how I got here from there.

BY MONTANA JONES

Photo courtesy of Edible Toronto magazine

“2015

After a court date in March, I commented to my son on how the average murder trial would rarely amount to ten thousand pages of disclosure, yet the government’s sheepnapping case will be well over that number.

“This IS a murder trial,” he said. “A mass murder.”

He’s referring to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) killing my rare, very healthy heritage Shropshire sheep. They’ve murdered over a hundred Shrops in the last couple of years. Little lambs, rams, pregnant ewes, and their unborn. All were beautiful, and all were meant to live out their beautiful lives.

Michael Schmidt on the many mysteries of the Montana Jones and CFIA sheep-napping case now before the courts

From Michael Schmidt:

Patrick Lyster — part of the mystery? Photo from his website.

Let me begin with the statement that many disputed facts with regard to the mysterious sheep-napping case are in front of the court and cannot be revealed according to some RULES.

Let me state as well that it appears as if the prosecution seems to know the rules but likes to enforce them only when the accused appears to have abused them and disregards the rules whenever they see fit.

But all of this seems to be part of a society dominated by complacency and conformity.

Let’s explore the many mysteries, which surround the incredible saga of the lost sheep.

Mystery number one

Did Montana’s Shropshire sheep have scrapie in the first place??

In a democratic society one should expect that a government agency first should be required to provide proof “beyond reasonable doubt” of the existence of disease, before eradicating a herd of heritage sheep.

Accused sheep-napper pleads guilty; other three face pre-trial in February

Sheep photo by Laura Berman, via Montana Jones’ “Save our Shrops” FB page.

According to a Canadian Press story posted yesterday on Global News, one of the four people originally charged in the disappearance of  Linda (Montana) Jones’ 31 Shropshire sheep, has now pleaded guilty to one count of transport or causing to transport and an animal under quarantine. Suzanne Atkinson will be sentenced January 30th.

The sheep in question were removed in April of 2012 from Ms. Jones’ farm near Trent Hills Ontario, while the farm was under quarantine by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Suzanne Atkinson was among four persons charged by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency after the Shropshire sheep were removed in April 2012 while the farm near Trent Hills, Ont., was under federal quarantine by the CFIA.

One Small Step for Sheepkind…

From Montana Jones:

Montana Jones, lawyer Shawn Buckley, Michael Schmidt

HIGH FIVE to lawyer Shawn Buckley for his superb work in ensuring justice was served in one small step today toward truths and rights.

Superior Court Judge ruled today that Crown Damien Frost will NOT be permitted to cross examine Michael Schmidt nor Montana Jones on anything other than facts relevant to the conflict of interest question.

Montana Jones back in court today

Here’s what she published yesterday on her fundraising page:

Back in Court tomorrow for the next appearance in the sheep case. The CFIA is now trying to have my lawyers bumped off this case and not permitted to represent me, stating that my excellent legal counsel may be “a conflict of interest”.

Unbelievable…will find out how an earth they might try to weave any reasoning into such utter nonsense.

Michael Schmidt, on the CFIA’s investigatory zeal over lost Shropshire sheep

Documents disclosed to Michael Schmidt by the Crown, regarding charges he is facing from the CFIA, relating to the Shropshire sheep-napping saga. Photo courtesy of Michael Schmidt.

14 inches and counting.

The waking of the angry giant…..

How the CFIA is wasting unlimited resources funded by taxpayers in the sheep-napping investigation.

It is fascinating how apparently a very simple act of civil disobedience has unleashed an investigation worthy of searching for a mass murderer or a drug cartel.

Michael Schmidt in court yesterday in Cobourg re sheep conspiracy charges

Michael Schmidt, speaking at a fund-raising event at Montana Jones’ farm in September 2012

Yesterday, Michael Schmidt appeared in court in Cobourg to face criminal charges related to the disappearance of Montana Jones’ flock of heritage Shropshire sheep which the CFIA had placed under quarantine and were planning to slaughter for testing. Montana Jones is also among the three others charged with conspiracy in this case.

Some months after their disappearance, most of the missing sheep were discovered, then slaughtered by the CFIA, and found to be not infected with the dread Scrapie, a disease in sheep that’s similar to mad cow in cattle. The CFIA had been particularly suspicious of Montana’s flock because their genotype supposedly made them more susceptible to the disease, and because a sheep that was originally from Montana’s flock was, some years later, connected with the disease.

Why didn’t the CFIA disclose finding the five missing Shropshire sheep?

From Montana Jones’ lawyer Karen Selick, on The Justice Report:

“…The Better Farming website here quotes an e-mail they had received from spokesperson Lisa Gauthier of the CFIA on December 6, 2012.  While I haven’t seen the e-mail myself, here is what Better Farming writes about it:
“Gauthier notes that five of the 31 sheep that disappeared are still missing. The agency’s investigation continues, ‘including work to confirm what happened to the other five sheep,’ she writes.”

The truth is that the CFIA found the remaining five sheep months ago.  Two of them had apparently died during transport and their remains were recovered in June, 2012.  The other three sheep were surrendered by unknown persons on September 12, 2012.  The live animals were left in a crate on a roadside near Erin, Ontario with a note indicating that they were Montana Jones’ sheep.