26 October 2016 | MEDIA RELEASE
New dairy footage exposes ongoing cruelty in industry Dairy farming is once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons say
SAFE and Farmwatch. New footage obtained by Farmwatch investigators
shows that a year on from the explosive 2015 exposé of the New Zealand
dairy industry, calves continue to be mistreated.
In the 2016 calving season investigation in the Waikato and Taranaki, calves
are seen being pulled out of cages, and thrown into transport trucks and roughly
dragged away by their hind legs and mother cows are recorded desperately
trying to stay with their calves.
The footage exposes that it is business as usual in the dairy industry; an
industry that continues to cause animal suffering.
The brutal throwing of calves, together with their appalling treatment at the
Down Cow slaughterhouse, created a public outcry in November 2015, with
concern reported internationally. While one of the workers involved was
prosecuted, animals continue to suffer.
As a result of SAFE and Farmwatch’s 2015 investigation, the Ministry for
Primary Industries (MPI) and the dairy industry were forced to respond. They
have attempted to deflect attention to the Down Cow slaughterhouse cruelty,
while minimising the harsh treatment of the calves on farms and during
transport. In an attempt to allay the public’s concerns, official statements portray
that mistreatment is not widespread. This is not, however, reflected by what has
been observed in the new footage, with the majority of interactions filmed
between workers and calves involving mishandling.
Following last year’s exposé of cruelty in the NZ dairy industry, in August this
year MPI released regulations on the treatment of bobby calves. The new laws
are 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.
Significant Issues remain:
• • • • The throwing of calves is not explicitly banned, as it is in Europe.
Starving calves for up to 24 hours prior to slaughter is permitted.
Four-day-old calves can still be transported for up to 12 hours.
No monitoring programmes are in place.
It is likely that the farmers and truck drivers who were ignoring the previous
rules will continue to do so again.
John Darroch of Farmwatch says that 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 Mr Darroch, “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.”
“The dairy industry causes widespread animal suffering, from the separation of
mother cows from their young babies, to the brutal treatment of these
vulnerable young animals on their way to the slaughterhouse,” says Mandy
Carter, SAFE head of campaigns. “Since MPI is the body charged with
promoting primary industries, it has an obvious conflict of interest when it comes
to protecting animal welfare. We urgently need an independent voice for
animals to ensure that the needs of animals are prioritised.”
SAFE urges people who agree that the cruel treatment of cows and their calves
is unacceptable to join the thousands of caring individuals who are already
using alternatives to milk and other dairy products by taking the dairy-free
pledge.