Restricions on calves?

[Farmer Keith]

It isn't the farmers fault but they are the ones also affected

Changing that washing your hands of them as they leave the yard gate mentality is exactly what this is all about, no one can say the breeders abused them calves but did they sell them to the best person they could?

 

[Sid]

Changing that washing your hands of them as they leave the yard gate mentality is exactly what this is all about, no one can say the breeders abused them calves but did they sell them to the best person they could?

I am sure the majority of those who supplied calves to this person were totally unaware this was happening.
But even with putting restrictions on the age that calves leave the farm it doesn't stop this sort of abuse.

How do propose you prevent this?

answer asap as I have animals going to market in next few days and I don't want this sort of thing to happen to my stock!

how far down the chain do you want to go?

if I pick up a muller/arla/tesco/coke/kfc etc branded product that has been discarded as rubbish and is damaging a habitat for wildlife. Can I go back to them and say they shouldn't have sold that to that individual or again in the future?

It's been seen in slaughter houses with large finished animals as well.

 

[Farmer Keith]

I am sure the majority of those who supplied calves to this person were totally unaware this was happening.
But even with putting restrictions on the age that calves leave the farm it doesn't stop this sort of abuse.

How do propose you prevent this?

answer asap as I have animals going to market in next few days and I don't want this sort of thing to happen to my stock!

how far down the chain do you want to go?

if I pick up a muller/arla/tesco/coke/kfc etc branded product that has been discarded as rubbish and is damaging a habitat for wildlife. Can I go back to them and say they shouldn't have sold that to that individual or again in the future?

It's been seen in slaughter houses with large finished animals as well.

Ideally you want the rearer in your yard do you not? The fact that there’s cameras everywhere these days should act as a great deterrent really but as you say this is by no means an isolated incident unfortunately.

I don’t get your comparison with littering.

 

[Farmer Keith]

You’d also hope this particular dealer will no longer be welcome around the country’s calf rings if the auctions have any morals?

 

[devonbeef]

If you crossed these hol (extreme) ones back to a friesians would you lose much yield in offspring 1 st cross?Then put dumpier ones back onto holsteins. there must be a middle road.Hopefully more dams would be throwing better cross Angus too.

 

[Sid]

Ideally you want the rearer in your yard do you not? The fact that there’s cameras everywhere these days should act as a great deterrent really but as you say this is by no means an isolated incident unfortunately.

I don’t get your comparison with littering.

Sadly it seems not.
But do farmers report other farmers or dealers when they see this sort of thing happening?

Comparison with littering.

We all find rubbish littered along the road and blame who evers logo is printed in the item.

Who is to blame for the littering? The company that sold that item to the discarder? Or the discarder?
Who is to blame for the cruelty?
The farmer that sold the calf to the abuser? Or the abuser?

 

[TheRanger]

If you crossed these hol (extreme) ones back to a friesians would you lose much yield in offspring 1 st cross?Then put dumpier ones back onto holsteins. there must be a middle road.Hopefully more dams would be throwing better cross Angus too.

Holstein calves aren’t worthless at current prices. Unless maybe you factor in bTB.

 

[Sid]

Holstein calves aren’t worthless at current prices. Unless maybe you factor in bTB.

That would be the biggest facter

 

[Farmer Keith]

Sadly it seems not.
But do farmers report other farmers or dealers when they see this sort of thing happening?

Comparison with littering.

We all find rubbish littered along the road and blame who evers logo is printed in the item.

Who is to blame for the littering? The company that sold that item to the discarder? Or the discarder?
Who is to blame for the cruelty?
The farmer that sold the calf to the abuser? Or the abuser?

Please do not twist what i said

no one can say the breeders abused them calves but did they sell them to the best person they could?

you’re comparing an inert piece of plastic to a living thing? I feel as dairy farmers we have a duty of care to ensure every animal we breed has the best care possible and when such an event as this happens if our calves are involved we have to hold our hands up and admit we’ve not done as well by our calves as we should have done and endeavour to see that it doesn’t happen again.

 

[Sandpit Farm]

It is so difficult as it certainly is not the farmers' fault who supplied the calves but the consequence of this abuse happening affects all farmers in terms of industry reputation. The Industry Calf Strategy (https://ahdb.org.uk/gb-dairy-calf-strategy-2020-2023) aims to deal with the issue but there will undoubtedly be unintended consequences and some pain to getting there.

You almost need these pressures to drive the industry to respond. eg, if there are low value calves, how do you raise their value? Who takes the risk and therefore gets the margin?

Raising the value of these calves can be done at the start of their life, by breeding to beef and using sexed semen, or at the end of their life (which is harder) by value added offerings (like veal, biltong etc) or routes to specific markets (like food service, cottage industry, artisan butcheries etc) or branding and/or marketing using traceability and sustainability as the main driver. I think we have the 'start of life' solution sorted but getting to a place where we have the right industry pressures on the 'end of life' solutions is the difficult bit and will cause some pain in terms of low (or no) margins for farmers, people not respecting the animals and getting the message right so it in itself does not cause unnecessary reputational damage.

 

[Sid]

Please do not twist what i said


you’re comparing an inert piece of plastic to a living thing? I feel as dairy farmers we have a duty of care to ensure every animal we breed has the best care possible and when such an event as this happens if our calves are involved we have to hold our hands up and admit we’ve not done as well by our calves as we should have done and endeavour to see that it doesn’t happen again.

I don't understand which part I am supposed to have twisted?

Plastic is not inert.
It cause all sorts of issues to the planet in various way.

One being astro turf and ingestion by animals.

What about sky lanterns guess they are ok as well?