The nature of New Zealand dairy farming practises has been attacked this week based on the treatment of bobby calves and the emotional effect of removing them from their mothers.
Hidden video footage of inexcusably poor treatment of bobby calves being sent off to slaughter has aired on TVNZ and created an uproar worldwide.
Amid the turmoil, additional side issues have arisen, which to consumers not familiar with farming practises, seem to appear just as devastating as the abusive behaviour to the calves.
The abusive nature of the treatment of slaughterhouse calves shown in the TVNZ programme is appalling. It would be a safe claim to make, that the NZ dairy industry condemns that type of behaviour. A small number of people have tainted the entire industry. This is an issue that can be controlled easily – remove those people from the industry. They do not share the same respect other dairy representatives have of the animals they work with.
What is clear from the various media reports and comments from readers on articles is the lack of education a large group of consumers has on basic farming processes.
A more difficult issue to address is the distress consumers have about the process of separating the calf from its mother at birth and the emotional stress this has on the animals.
This process is not new, the cow has to have a calf to produce milk that can be harvested. This is something that hasn’t crossed some consumers’ minds before. This of course is not exclusive to NZ cows. Some consumers may well be shocked to learn it happens all over the world.
With the world becoming more urbanised and as each generation becomes further distanced from the process of harvesting food, there is a bigger need to become transparent. This means educating consumers of the process of farming, videos and blogs on websites, marketing campaigns.
The behaviour of the individuals in the video towards the bobby calves is appalling, but so too is the fact that it has taken this video for people to learn basic principles of dairy farming.
The industry needs to show it is not hiding any of its processes. It needs to educate people on what the proper way of farming is, before devastating images educate using unfair representation.
