Falklands : Falklands Reindeer Question at Public Meeting
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 01.05.2010 (Article Archived on 15.05.2010)
A public meeting was held at 1700 hrs on Tuesday, 27 April 2010 in the Court and Assembly Chamber of the Town Hall.
PUBLIC MEETING TUESDAY, 27 APRIL 2010 WRITTEN QUESTION
By J. Brock (FINN)
A public meeting was held at 1700 hrs on Tuesday, 27 April 2010 in the Court and Assembly Chamber of the Town Hall. Present were The Hon Mr Dick Sawle MLA, The Hon Miss Emma Edwards MLA, The Hon Mr Roger Edwards, The Hon Mr Gavin Short MLA, The Hon Mr Glenn Ross MLA and the Hon Mr Bill Luxton MLA, Chair.
There was one rather lengthy written question about the Reindeer Stud Flock:
A. How much money has been spent to transport and feed the original stud flock from South Georgia? Answer, £165,000.00 in 2001
B. How much for each animal? Answer, based on 60 animals, £3,000.00 per animal
C. Is there a business plan and at what total cost? Answer, 120 females and 20 males were brought from South Georgia. For 160 Reindeer the value is £130,000.00 in meat and for tourism. It is expected that the project will break even in 2018.
D. When will the project become commercially viable? Answer, it was expected to become commercially viable in 2010 but there have been set-backs.
Participating farmers can own a distinct herd of females, which can be sold. A typical herd has 5 adult stags, 20 females and 15 fawns. The farmer is responsible for managing the herd and the Department of Agriculture for animal health at no cost to the private sector. The farmer is responsible for the strength of the herd and breeding.
More discussion on the Telecoms issue will follow. FINN received several phone calls from people who were concerned about retribution for what they said about Telecommunications at the meeting.
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