Breeders who do not declare large livestock face much higher fines than the current ones, since the penalties rise sharply when going from the 50 pesos that not declaring an animal meant to 20,000. The amount had been stagnant since the approval of the previous decree that regulated the control and registration of cattle or horses and that comes from 1997. The authorities consider that the fines currently had a low amount, so “they did not meet the purposes for which they are intended.”
The new decree, which updates the previous one, collects up to 15 types of violations that must be sanctioned. Among them, the 10,000 pesos fine stands out, compared to the current 20, in case of not identifying an animal and the confiscation of this if it is shown that the information has been adulterated. For years, many Cuban ranchers have declared having males and not females to avoid reporting milk production and births.
Among them, the 10,000 pesos fine stands out, compared to the current 20, in case of not identifying an animal and the confiscation of this if it is shown that the information has been adulterated.
Failure to update deaths, births or missing livestock is also penalized with 10,000 pesos, while sales, transfers and other operations that involve a change of ownership entail a fine of 5,000 pesos per animal.
The highest penalties, of 20,000 pesos, are aimed at those who allow the presence of cattle of any kind on the roads. This case includes the confiscation of the animal, another sanction predictably designed for cases of owners who led their cattle to highways or railways in such a way that they perished apparently accidentally. This allowed them to eat them without giving explanations to the State.
Giving false information and hiding it or not counting the animals they guard is also fined 20,000 pesos.
Fines of 10,000 pesos will apply to those who buy or receive large livestock without state authorization, as well as for those who sell or transfer it. The same applies to those who, having authorization to slaughter cattle, do not do so in accordance with the rules of execution and the destination of the meat. Allowing grazing on other people’s land is also fined this amount and the confiscation of the animal in case of recidivism.
There will also be fines of 5,000 pesos for those who move cattle from one farm to another if they belong to different livestock registries and do not have permission to do so. Also for those who own more cattle than authorized and those who “being forced to buy excess animals from landless cattle owners, do not do so.”
The decree was published on August 24 and has been disclosed by the official press this Monday. Although, according to the authorities, the purpose is to promote agricultural production, it is still a mere increase in the sanctions that already existed and tried to be circumvented with a picaresque settled on the Island for decades.
The obligation to declare cattle was established in Cuba in 1964 and results have not been exactly successful. Starting in 1967, a drop in beef production began that has been unstoppable. That year there were 7.1 million head of cattle and since then the fall has been sustained. Since 1986 they have not reached 5 million again and last 2021 only 3.7 were declared.
The 63 measures launched in April of that year to stimulate food production included the liberalization of the slaughter, consumption and sale of beef, in addition to milk, but few have obtained the required permit and most they prefer to continue selling on the left, since the dividends are higher.
The authorities also announced payment in foreign currency for those who exceed deliveries over the amount contracted, but banking problems and the lack of foreign currency, which producers need to buy inputs, have made it practically impossible for them to collect what was promised.
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