This happens all too often in our industry and obviously does nothing to help the standing of farmers in the eyes of those who have entrusted us to care for the land and grow their food. My social media timelines were flooded with angry farmers denouncing what they had seen. For 99% of farmers the images were abhorrent. Dairy New Zealand released a statement condemning the sort of treatment shown.
Good farmers know that stressed and injured animals are less productive. Good farmers know the world is watching what they do and animal welfare is integral to a sustainable and socially acceptable farming system.
The previous night I’d been talking to someone about Mycoplasma bovis and the fact that non-farmers have been exposed to the heartbreaking stories of those affected farmers faced with sick animals and the prospect of losing their herds. Viewers of television news got to see farmers who care deeply for their animals struggling when faced with this terrible disease.
Now we have these images – which many farmers said they couldn’t finish watching. It’s hard to know what farmers can do to address this, an isolated case. The most important thing is not to minimise or make excuses. Maltreatment of animals is a crime and it’s not okay.
So report those you see who farm in a way that is unacceptable to you and to any respectable person. Be vocal about how animals are treated on NZ farms and be vocal in condemning those who don’t show the respect required to be a farmer. Farming takes hard work, dedication, resilience and intelligence. But it also requires empathy, compassion and love – for the people you work with, for the land you tend and for the animals you care for.
Bryan Gibson
