The Times sticks the boot in to farm animal welfare

Bald Rick

Moderator
Livestock Farmer
Location
Anglesey
When I get a chance, I will take a photo of the Editorial in today's Times.

It doesn't make for pleasant reading if you keep livestock as it relies on data from animal cruelty charities to accuse UK farmers of having welfare standards on a par with China and well below our European counterparts.
Stimulated by video of piglets being killed on farm by the use of a hammer ...



Sorry but both are behind paywalls but will sort when I've finished making goo goo eyes at my cows this evening
 

Goweresque

Member
Location
North Wilts
data from animal cruelty charities to accuse UK farmers of having welfare standards on a par with China

Well that just proves its a joke then. I've been to China and seen what goes on with my own eyes. I'll bet not one of the animal charity bods have ever set foot in China, they'll just be looking at official stats as supplied by the Chinese State, aka the Chinese Communist party.

 

Bald Rick

Moderator
Livestock Farmer
Location
Anglesey
Article on pig cruelty

28EE7892-DB15-46CD-8F6E-028F5AE39523.jpeg
 

Bald Rick

Moderator
Livestock Farmer
Location
Anglesey
Leader on U.K. livestock and welfare.

Many points, to me, seem wrong and should be challenged but I fear that the Times is driving a government agenda here ....

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I stopped reading the leader column when it stated that housing in “farrowing crates for 16 weeks” was still legal here. Confusing farrowing crates (legal for housing sows and litters for 4 weeks for piglet welfare reasons) with sow stalls (banned in the UK in 1999 but still legal in most of the rest of the world).
Lazy journalism yet again. As for the China bit, that’s libellous.
 

onesiedale

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Derbyshire
@Bald Rick you are rightly concerned. There is a serious anti-livestock undertone to that editorial. Fair enough, it has been managed to coincide with a slow news weekend, but even so it is stirring up an agenda that has been fed to the editorial team at the Times.
@Christine Watts I do hope you and your PR team at AHDB are on this one and please don't hold back in supporting your livestock farmers.
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife

Blunt force trauma is the recommended method for humane despatch of piglets (as well as lambs). DEFRA have taken advice from the Humane Slaughter Association, which suggests holding the animal by the back legs and swinging its head off a wall/floor, or striking the head with a blunt object.

In this case, use of the hammer appears appropriate, provided the operator is correctly trained.

 
Red Tractor wants to replace blunt trauma with the use of a turkey stunners. Doubtless the stunner would have to be kept under lock and key in a safe place.
A typical scenario sometimes found on an outdoor unit such as mine is finding a freshly born litter where the sow has accidentally trod on one of her piglets (much less likely to happen with a farrowing crate, but they are "bad" apparently) and the poor little thing has its intestines hanging out.
What is a compassionate stockman to do? Go and get the stunner from its safe place, which might involve a ten minute journey to fetch the implement? during which time the squealing piglet has caused the sow distress and she might well have stood up and been circling in her hut, standing on more piglets.
Or should he pick up the piglet, grasp it by its hindlegs and quickly and efficiently swing the piglet against a hard surface, killing it in one blow?
Of course nowadays before that operation has to be preceded by a quick look around to ensure that nobody is filming/that there are no hidden cameras.
 

Poorbuthappy

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
Blunt force trauma is the recommended method for humane despatch of piglets (as well as lambs). DEFRA have taken advice from the Humane Slaughter Association, which suggests holding the animal by the back legs and swinging its head off a wall/floor, or striking the head with a blunt object.

In this case, use of the hammer appears appropriate, provided the operator is correctly trained.

Seems people would rather have farmland rewilded cos death in the wild is obviously far more humane🙄
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
Red Tractor wants to replace blunt trauma with the use of a turkey stunners. Doubtless the stunner would have to be kept under lock and key in a safe place.
A typical scenario sometimes found on an outdoor unit such as mine is finding a freshly born litter where the sow has accidentally trod on one of her piglets (much less likely to happen with a farrowing crate, but they are "bad" apparently) and the poor little thing has its intestines hanging out.
What is a compassionate stockman to do? Go and get the stunner from its safe place, which might involve a ten minute journey to fetch the implement? during which time the squealing piglet has caused the sow distress and she might well have stood up and been circling in her hut, standing on more piglets.
Or should he pick up the piglet, grasp it by its hindlegs and quickly and efficiently swing the piglet against a hard surface, killing it in one blow?
Of course nowadays before that operation has to be preceded by a quick look around to ensure that nobody is filming/that there are no hidden cameras.

What on earth is their reasoning their?

I guess it's like using lethal injection on horses. A bullet is much swifter and more certain, but looks bloodier. So the injection is considered more humane, but in reality it is for the benefit of the human, not the animal.
 

spin cycle

Member
Location
north norfolk
i put a slightly different 'spin' on it.......this 'farmer' has been preaching about standards to other farmers via his 'role'.....yet standards are not what it seems on his own farm

the truth of all farm assurance....a lie designed to cover the arses of corporate farming exploiting the integrity of decent folk driven to distraction by the paper chase
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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