Years of improper farm practices have caught up to Richard Yntema, owner of Valley Wide Meats in Enderby, as he awaits sentencing for charges relating to boars being allowed to access slaughter waste.
Yntema appeared in Salmon Arm Court for sentencing on Wednesday, Oct. 23. The outcome, however, is still pending as time did not allow for his rebuttal to Crown counsel's case, though both parties had previously agreed on a conditional sentence and probation order.
Facing eight charges in total, Yntema pleaded guilty to three counts on July 30, including feed without permit, feeding meat to swine or poultry and impede or mislead analyst, inspector or officer.
The charges stem from slaughter waste being improperly stored on the property, with the pen of 43 wild boars able to access those scraps, which included specified risk material (SRM) that can contain the proteins that cause Mad Cow Disease. Additionally, Yntema refused to provide records requested by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and, on at least one occasion, provided false information.
In his case, Crown attorney Joshua Cramer provided a violation history dating back to 2010 for a variety of infraction of the Health of Animals Regulations Act, including accepting untagged animals for slaughter. In that time, Yntema received numerous warnings, charges and fines, a number of which remain unpaid.
Cramer added that Yntema has a high level of culpability in these infractions, describing the offences as “broadly intentional acts, some with a degree of, at the very least, extreme recklessness.”
“The charges are quite serious. In the Crown’s view, they would easily warrant a jail sentence,” Cramer said, adding they had initially wanted a sentence of six months jail, to be followed by a three-year probation order.
He explained that Yntema, however, had contacted Crown counsel and asked for a sentence that didn’t involve jail. Through discussion, the two sides agreed on a six-month conditional sentence order (CSO) that would require Yntema to shut down his abattoir business, remove boars from his property that he was unlawfully feeding slaughter waste, and clean up slaughter waste improperly dumped on the property. That would then be followed by two-and-a-half years of probation.
“The proposed CSO is unusual in that it doesn’t include a period of house arrest or a curfew. The purpose of the CSO is esesntially to shut down this business. The waste being distributed into the environment needs to stop, in the Crown’s view.”
The hearing will resume on Dec. 23, Judge Andrew Tam’s next available date, at 9:30 a.m. at the Salmon Arm Law Courts when Yntema will have an opportunity to respond and the sentencing is finalized.
