Plight of Bull Calves

And rotten tinned beef to Sarajevo during the Balkans war. They have a monument in Sarajevo as a sarcastic thank you for the tinned rotten beef.

The are simply too many of them for that to solve the problem.

I wish RTE would do a real expose of the root of the problem...

Imo when quotas were abolished advisory services went full throttle advising farmers to follow the NZ model...Govt were complicit..they didn't give a shite then about the implications and they don't give a shite now either...they push an unsustainable model and then pull the rug down the line....bunch of greedy short sighted morons ....

Look at what they didn't do to Goodman after the beef tribunal....

I wish to absolute **** there was a decent standard of journalism in this country that would hold the real criminals to account but I guess its just not sexy enough to tackle the larger overarching systemic issues that might alleviate the problem a lot more effectively than the outrage news cycle....

Farmers are the latest targets to be identified ....and according to popular discourse they are a bunch of moronic back country hicks with turnips for brains that love a spot of animal cruelty ...its **** disgusting...the real problem are the greedy short termers and morons embedded in the system and the small percentage of cowboys giving everyone else a bad name...like a lot of things there will be **** all consequences for them though...the consequences will have to be borne by the many doing things to as high a standard as they can.

We have an excellent product in this country (beef) that is produced on the majority of farms to some of the highest standards in the world but because of policy and corruption it has to compete with product produced under none of the same quality assurance standards ...likewise milk produced on the majority of dairy farms is light years away from any type of animal cruelty etc ....but the usual keyboard **** will tar all farmers with the same brush no doubt having spent zero time on a working farm or understanding what goes on there

The majority of farmers don't mistreat animals on their farm....if for no other reason than its simply not profitable but in many cases there's more too it than that....

Calves are lovely playful creatures, I'm obviously not a farmer but I camped beside some highland cows in Wales just last month and their calves were the most adorable things and came over to say hello every morning. It is mad how if this was about the treatment of puppies, the whole country would be mortified. I really hope this exposure improves their welfare even a tiny bit.

Soya milk for the win.

You are missing the point....predictably.

Or perhaps you are the point...some people will want to blame/tar farmers with a nice big brush due to this...

The irony being they will do fook all to help any calves as the farmers aren't really the issue...they are just handy target the majority of which havent had a hand act or part in whats being described....in short convienient deflection/ scapegoats ...RTE just want to stoke outrage but I seriously doubt they will do another expose or follow up on the root causes of this or shine a light on the people most responsible.....

Maybe you will surprise me and take heed of another point of view...theres info out there to back up all I'm saying.

There's a reason the majority of farmers / in fact most primary producers the world over are price takers......that alone should tell you how much control they have.

It’s been banned in Scotland so is live exporting illegal throughout the UK? If it’s been banned in Scotland, why can’t it be banned here?

Sadly not. I have been waiting a long time for Prime Time to do an expose of our industrial dog farming units (aka puppy farms). We are the dog breeding capital of Europe with a horrible reputation in the UK and across Europe for welfare standards. Thousands pf pups are exported every year, many through Northern Ireland. Again the Dept. Of Agriculture not only knows what’s going on but facilitates it.

The ISPCA and DSPCA don’t say or do much as their funding comes from the Dept. Of Ag so they can’t jeopardise it. See my earlier post about the Dept. Of Ag vet exposed for animal cruelty but case dropped and he was quietly let off the hook.

It's definitely not nothing to do with them at all....

However if your livelihood is milking cows and your govt and advisory service + media/a certain news paper of note push a new Zealand model with little or no thought for what happens down the line with dairy bull calves of little or no economic value (incl Jersey genetics) ...ffs the main man when questioned recently said he hadn't considered the calves then surely it should give some pause for thought?

If you decide not to go down that road (it was pushed as the only show in town to make farming viable) then you can watch the lad up the road do it and eventually run you and your family out of business and buy your place ....which is probably and even bigger motivator...if land around here comes up for sale or rent its either bought by a very small cohort of large dairy farmers or very wealthy business man...I can tell you truthfully there's very few normal to average sized farmers able for it.

So given all that yeah...I think the majority of farmers are the least culpable (and I include a lot of m

small to mid sized dairy farms in that having dealt withmany in this area over the years)......like I said there's a reason they are price takers....like a lot of industries the masters of the universe in the upper echelons and the various parasitic satellite orgs with fingers in the pie called the shots all the way...they still do.....

But by all means continue believing what you want to believe....

These are male calves, the side product of genetic engineering which selects for maximum milk output and hence minimal meat output.

It's 30 years since I milked a cow but even then Friesian bullocks were close to worthless; grass eating machines who grew tall and lanky with very little meat. The selection has only got more acute in the long term.

In NZ nearly 30 years ago Friesian bull calves were killed at birth; as it was cheaper.

That or even more selective genetics to get rid of males entirely are the likely alternatives.

A more humane alternative might be more rounded hardier dairy breeds, with less emphasis on just milk production.

https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/lessons-learned-from-once-a-day-milking-in-co-tipperary/

This isn't news, cattle dealers have been rogues and rough as fcuk forever

I know that male chicks are also a "problem" for the farming industry and are typically just slaughtered immediately

source

although the EU are looking into banning that practice.

If males are a problem with calves and chicks then I guess they're a problem with sheep and pigs as well?

Some very predictable responses on here by the usual keyboard warrior culprits, most likely urbanites, far removed from the reality and plight of rural life, sitting in their comfy chair, on their apple product and, ironically, probably sipping on a latte/cappuccino. No experience whatsoever of one of the hardest, most demanding professions out there, but still feel entitled to comment without impunity.

Disclaimer: I am a part time farmer (third level lecturer as my day job, so not some Healy Rae turnip as some on here like to characterise famers). I was disgusted by the behaviour shown last night. I can confidently say that I, nor any member of my family, have ever acted like that and, furthermore, would condone such behaviour if we saw it. However, I think it needs to be said that the actions seen last night are those of a few, not the majority. People on here, and elsewhere, are very quick to jump to conclusions, and a narrative has developed around all farmers now. I see posters on here sarcastically refering to "custodians of the land". Yes, we are, and the majority take great care of the land and have immense pride in it. Again don't let a few well-publicised (and inexcusable I might add) indiscretions by a few taint the good work of thousands.

I don't like the way this narrative has developed, and the direction in which the debate is being framed. Farming, like most industries has been governed by capitalist policies and free market economics. This has resulted in the massive expansion of our dairy sector, in particular. Let us not forget that this was what the government wanted, the advice been given to farmers was to expand. Now we see the consequences - a lot of traditional, family farms have been centralised into huge enterprises, with more and more power held by fewer farmers. Basically, the big got bigger. And, in my view, it is a lot of these bigger farmers (businesses in reality) who are responsible for the unscrupulous behaviour. Their herds are so large now that they don't have time, nor see the value, in bull calves. However, they are not solely to blame, they are simply products of a system which was proposed (sometimes pushed) on them. Where are the farm advisors and politicians now? No, it's far easier to blame the farmers.

Apologies for the long, at times meandering, rant. But the crux of my argument is that, there are still a hell of a lot of very good, responsible, caring, farmers out there. I like to think I am one. I know a lot of my neighbours are. Let's not demonise all farmers because of the actions of some.

There are rules and regulations concerning animal welfare. The fact that you once owned an animal prior to selling it in good faith neither gives you the right nor the obligation to ensure that a later owner of that animal obeys those rules and regulations. There are people whose job it is to check such regulations are being followed and to enforce same.

I don't think you'd get very far if you rocked up to the port and demanded access to inspect a boat based off the belief that they might have an animal on board that you used to own until you sold it in good faith a week or two ago.

Suppose you own a listed building. You put it up for sale at auction. It sells (to the highest bidder - naturally). A year later you get blamed because the new owners subsequently destroyed the building through neglect. There are people whose jobs it is to monitor such properties and whose job it is to enforce compliance of the rules surrounding it. How much blame should be attributed to you for the subsequent owner's failure to abide by those rules?

I watched this last night by accident, was only tuning in for the weather after the news and just happened to begin watching it.

It’s absolutely sickening what happens to bull calves on dairy farms, and was an excellent programme in that or educated me on something I had no clue about. I’m always wary of making authoritative statements on farming, when I have no experience or real knowledge of working in it, but surely to god, any decent human being would not treat newborn calves this way.

The truth is though, we all need to be consuming less beef and dairy, we’re absolutely destroying the planet. I’m not trying to be some do-gooder, I don’t think it needs to be all or nothing, but I could easily cut back on both by about 30-40%, and have been making steps to do so.

I can honestly say I would happily pay a premium on dairy products if I could be absolutely guaranteed that the cattle involved were treated ethically. Surely I’m not alone in that.

A lot of outrage here.

Fairly simple solution. Stop consuming dairy