MIAMI, United States. — Despite constituting a criminal act punishable by law with severe penalties of deprivation of liberty, the theft and slaughter of cattle shot in Cuba during 2022.
Figures released by the digital portal cubadebate indicate that only last year 82,445 cases were registered, statistics much higher than the 33,690 registered in 2021.
Of the total cases reported in 2022, 45,315 corresponded to heads of cattle and 37,130 to horses.
The provinces with the highest number of theft and slaughter of cattle last year were Villa Clara (12,243), Holguín (9,825), Matanzas (8,158), Cienfuegos (7,082) and Las Tunas (6,354).
By municipalities, the ones that registered the most cases were Manicaragua (1,825) and Camajuaní (1,744), both in Villa Clara; the provincial capitals of Holguín (1,557) and Las Tunas (1,551), as well as Los Arabos (1,502), in Matanzas.
The number of cases of theft and slaughter of large cattle in 2022 contrasts with the authorized sacrifices, which rose to 10,436.
“The producers feel very disappointed with this whole situation. It is very painful for them that they eat a cow that is milking or that was to produce meat or work, ”he told cubadebate Adrián Gutiérrez Velázquez, director of livestock of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The official indicates that there is distrust and fear among the peasants who are dedicated to livestock due to the high number of cases that are registered in almost the entire country.
“You kill the cow, you take it and nothing else happens. In addition, there is a safe market, which is not only fresh meat but also the production of sausages”, expressed Gutiérrez.
Last year the Cuban regime approved through resolution 88 of 2022 of the Ministry of Agriculture the procedure for the slaughter and consumption of beef cattle from the self-consumption of animals from the different organizations and entities that own them.
However, the measure has not helped to eliminate cases of cattle theft, which, far from decreasing, have increased.
