11 March 2024

GAIA

Je veaux de l’amour – le triste sort des veaux issus de l’industrie laitière on Vimeo

In the dairy industry, cows are repeatedly inseminated to stay pregnant in order to produce milk. Their calves are considered by-products, and are taken from their mothers to be reared in lonely environments. Each year, over 300,000 calves are raised and slaughtered in Belgium.

GAIA’s campaign dives into the Belgian dairy industry, revealing how calves are badly treated, isolated, and reared in unhygienic and depressing conditions. 

Their video provides a glimpse of some of the biggest problems faced by calves:

• Taken from their mothers only a few hours after birth, causing intense emotional distress to both mother and child 
• Locked in tiny, individual pens for the first weeks of their lives, where they have barely any room to play, exercise, or interact with others 
• Transported to fattening sheds two weeks after being born, while their immune systems are still vulnerable 
• Fed unbalanced diets, causing sickness and digestive issues which then contributes to a filthy environment due to the amount of waste produced
• Slaughtered while they are still very young

Video Link:

https://player.vimeo.com/video/911155338?autoplay=0 A closer look at Belgium’s cruel treatment of calves

Though cows have a life expectancy of around twenty years, a huge number of calves in Belgium’s dairy sector are sent to slaughter when they are only between the ages of six to eight months, cutting their lives incredibly short. 

Some are killed in Belgium, while others are transported abroad to be fattened and slaughtered – but around 12% of them die even before they reach the slaughterhouse, exceeding the average mortality rate for all livestock combined (3 – 5%), according to GAIA. 

These deaths can be linked to the poor conditions in which they are reared and the physical and emotional stresses of being transported alive.

Looking to a brighter future for calves 

In Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, organic farmers let calves stay with their mothers, or “foster cows”, for much longer periods than those allowed in Belgian factory farms – sometimes several months.

Change could also be inspired in the industry if there was a widespread dietary shift across Europe, which would have numerous knock-on benefits for animals, people and the planet in Member States and beyond. 

GAIA’s campaign re-emphasises further the critical need for the European Commission to deliver the full revision to the animal welfare legislation. Current laws for animal welfare are vague, unenforceable and outdated, allowing for farming practices such as those explored above that cause countless sentient beings to suffer. We need species-specific laws in place for all sentient beings to ensure their welfare. 

The fate of the EU’s animals rests with its policy-makers… so it’s important that those elected to the European Commission this year care about their welfare! Tell your local candidates that you’ll be voting for those committed to animal protection here.

Regards Mark

Animal rights activists claim pig cruelty in undercover investigation

An undercover investigation on two Irish pig farms by animal rights activists has shown what they claim is “severe animal cruelty, neglect and environmental pollution”.

The footage purportedly taken in January 2024, was presented by Animal Rebellion Ireland (ARI) and the National Animal Rights Association (NARA) which said the farms were chosen “at random”.

Source: Animal Rebellion Ireland (ARI) and the National Animal Rights Association (NARA)

The activists said their footage shows pigs in “coffin-like confinement”, pigs with “docked tails”, “seemingly untreated wounds and injuries”, and “dead pigs left piled up outside”.

The footage was given to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), from which the campaigners say they are now “awaiting a response”.

“We want the entire pig industry shut down, and not over a lengthy transitional period. It needs to be shut down immediately,” NARA spokesperson, Laura Broxson said.

One of the pig farms investigated housed between 9,000-12,000 pigs, according to Animal Rebellion Ireland representative, Becky Jenkins, who said “this investigation is the first of many”.

“There were many pigs and piglets sick and injured. Some were biting the bars of their pens repeatedly, which is a stress-induced stereotypical behaviour,” Broxson said.

“We were expecting it to be bad, but we were not fully prepared for the horrors we witnessed,” the spokesperson said and added that there was “nauseating stench of faeces, urine and decay”.

“If dogs and cats were kept in such conditions, there would be national outrage, legal prosecutions, and immediate changes in legislation to prohibit its continuance,” Broxson added.

Attending a press conference organised by the organisations today (Tuesday, March 5), People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy said he will raise the matter in the Dáil this week.

L-r: Animal Rebellion Ireland representative, Becky Jenkins; former UK pig industry vet, Dr. Alice Brough; and National Animal Rights Association spokesperson, Laura Broxson at a press conference in Dublin which revealed the footage of pigs.

The DAFM said it will investigate the “alleged breaches” of pig welfare requirements raised by the acitvists “following receipt of any evidence”, and take “appropriate action” where non-compliance or poor welfare is identified.

In a statement provided to Agriland, the DAFM said that it takes any allegations of breaches of animal welfare regulations “extremely seriously”.

“Irish pig farms are subject to national and European pig welfare regulations, and department officials regularly inspect pig farms on that basis.

“The department has a number of initiatives to support improvements in pig welfare, including pig welfare action plans which the pig sector has engaged with.

“And the provision of grants through the department’s [Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes] TAMS programme to support higher-welfare buildings and infrastructure on farms,” the DAFM said.