The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has condemned what he has described as the “shocking practices” on an RTÉ Investigates programme which aired tonight (Monday, July 10).
Minister Charlie McConalogue said that scenes, which showed the poor treatment of bull calves and a serious disregard of animal welfare requirements, were “not reflective of the work that farmers put into managing their farm enterprises responsibly”.
“Farmers care for their animals and would never want to see them mistreated.
“As minister, I have worked with stakeholders on a range of measures to improve calf welfare, and farmers and the industry are embracing these measures,” the minister added.
He said that the RTÉ Investigates programme showed scenes which represented the “actions of a few”.
“What we saw was utterly unacceptable, and in some instances, was unlawful.
“My department has requested RTÉ provide it with all of the footage available, and any other information it has, so that it can investigate the matter fully and take appropriate action,” Minister McConalogue said.
But the leader of the Social Democrats, Holy Cairns, said the “shocking maltreatment of bull calves” highlighted by RTÉ Investigates was “a direct consequence of government policy to encourage intensification and expansion within the dairy sector”.
The TD for Cork South-West and the Social Democrats party spokesperson on agriculture, food and the marine, said there had to be “an acknowledgement that the entire dairy sector – and breeding practices in particular – need to be re-examined”.
Deputy Cairns added: “The harrowing scenes of cruelty depicted in the programme will have been viewed with disgust by the majority of those working in the dairy sector or by anyone who cares about animal welfare.
“Equally disturbing was the sight of calves having to go without milk for up to 21 hours while being transported by road and sea to mainland Europe to cater for the veal market on the continent.”
The Social Democrats leader said the fact is that there are practical measures that can be taken to address the problem of unwanted calves in Ireland.
“The use of sexed semen, for instance, can increase the numbers of dairy female replacements and reduce the numbers of dairy bull calves born.
“In our alternative budget last year, the Social Democrats proposed the removal of VAT from sexed semen to incentivise more viable breeding practices,” she added.