Japan Press Weekly

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2011 July 20 - 26 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Fukushima livestock farmers: Compensate us!

Fukushima’s livestock industry is facing a survival crisis as the government has banned shipments of beef cattle from Fukushima. Beef cattle producers in Fukushima are desperately demanding the earliest possible compensation from the state and TEPCO for their losses and damages.

More than 1,500 cows have reportedly eaten straw polluted with radioactive cesium emitted from TEPCO’s Fukushima plant, and these cattle have already been shipped to almost all prefectures in Japan. The price of beef is now taking a great dive.

“We were not informed of not feeding them the hay, which has now turned out to be cesium-polluted,” Sato Tomio said indignantly. He is a beef cattle breeder in Kawamata Town located about 44 km from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. He stated that the government had not checked for any risk of radioactive contamination at any stage from the hay feeding to the purchasing of cows, and that it had just conducted a screening test only on the surface of the cow bodies and allowed them to go on the market. That was the big mistake, said the breeder. He said, “An individual farmer or breeder cannot stably obtain safe feed at this time. We want the government to secure a supply of safe hay.”

Nonaka Shunkichi of Co-op Fukushima said, “We don’t blame Fukushima’s livestock farmers and we want the government and TEPCO to compensate us as soon as possible.”

Yoshizawa Masami works for a cattle farm located in the off-limits zone of Namie Town, about 8 km from the crippled nuclear plant. He still commutes to the farm every day with the government’s permission to feed the remaining 330 cows there. He said, “These cows are the living evidence of our voices in protest. Now that they are contaminated, I hope that they will be used for the study of the effect of radioactivity.” The cattleman added, “Cattle farmers as a whole should raise their voices in protest against the government and TEPCO. If not, the livestock industry will disappear from Fukushima. I will devote the rest of my life to the survival of our industry.”

Fukushima’s livestock farmers have been lodging claims against TEPCO for damages, but nothing has yet been paid.