A recent advertisement appeared on the popular classifieds app DoneDeal, offering a number of Friesian bull calves – for free.

The advert appeared on the platform on Thursday (February 28), naturally attracting widespread attention – the ad had almost 7,000 views at time of writing.

A total of 32 Friesian bulls were on offer, with potential takers assured that no Jersey calves were included in the bunch.

The three-week-old animals – advertised by Wicklow Calf Company – were all acquired from farms, described as being “good square calves, just too young for export”.

The one proviso attached to the calves was that the taker also had to buy 1t of milk replacer from the company.

Naturally, the calves were quickly snapped up by a ‘buyer’, with the advert amended to inform those interested that the animals were gone within 17 hours of going online.

Exporters meet minister

Meanwhile, on the topic of live exports, representatives from Ireland’s livestock-export sector met with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, also on Thursday morning.

During the meeting, Minister Creed reiterated the Government’s commitment to maintaining and developing live exports from Ireland.

The minister also highlighted the importance of adherence to the highest standards in animal welfare for the transportation of livestock.

Commenting on the meeting, a spokesperson for the minister said: “This was an important and timely dialogue with a key pillar of our livestock sector.”

At the meeting, the minister pressed upon exporters the need to consider collective representation in order to improve the sectors interaction with key stakeholders; from regulators to commercial transporters.