Dairy industry accused of cruelty

A bobby calf being dragged in a screenshot from Farmwatch’s recording. Photo: Farmwatch.

Dairy farming is once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, say SAFE and Farmwatch.

New footage obtained by Farmwatch investigators shows a year on from the 2015 exposé of the New Zealand dairy industry, calves continue to be mistreated.

In the 2016 calving season investigation carried out covertly in the Waikato and Taranaki regions, calves are seen being pulled out of cages, thrown into transport trucks and roughly dragged away by their hind legs. Mother cows are recorded desperately trying to stay with their calves.

Farmwatch says the footage shows 'it is business as usual in the dairy industry”, an industry which the activists allege continues to cause animal suffering.

Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers president Darryl Jensen says the new footage is disappointing but stresses it does not reflect the majority of farming practices.

'It certainly doesn't create a good image of the bobby calf industry, but it is only a small minority spoiling it for the rest of us.

"MPI are coming out with new regulations for next calving season, which include protecting claves from the weather and setting up platforms to walk them on to trucks."

Darryl adds that the issue is not a strong one in the Bay of Plenty due to horticulture being the primary use of rural land.

There was a public outcry in November 2015 over the treatment of calves at the Down Cow slaughterhouse, with concern reported internationally. While one of the workers involved was prosecuted, animals continue to suffer, say Farmwatch.

As a result of SAFE and Farmwatch's 2015 investigation, the Ministry for Primary Industries and the dairy industry were forced to respond. In an attempt to allay the public's concerns official statements portray mistreatment is not widespread.

But this is not reflected by the new footage, with the majority of interactions filmed between workers and calves involving mishandling, say Farmwatch.

In August this year MPI released regulations on the treatment of bobby calves. SAFE and Farmwatch call the new laws 'mediocre at best” for the two million bobby calves slaughtered every single year, especially as many of these regulations don't come in to force until 2017.

John Darroch of Farmwatch says rather than stopping cruelty to calves, the industry appears to be doing their best to hide the loading of those calves. The cages used for holding calves, before they are thrown into trucks, have been moved down long driveways, out of sight.

'I have nothing against farmers. I know they work incredibly hard and are going through a stressful time with the dairy downturn,” says John.

'But this does not excuse the abuse of calves which I have now witnessed over the past three years. In failing to implement better standards, the New Zealand dairy industry is putting our international reputation at risk.”

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