MATTHEW WATKINSON • WEB: http://www.fishsnorkel.com • TWITTER: http://twitter.com/fishsnorkel
DAIRY COWS IN BATTERY FARMS "The consequences of breeding and managing for high yield are numerous and diverse. Many animals sit on a metabolic knife edge, where small changes to management or inappropriate husbandry can have precipitous health consequences.” Jon Huxley and Martin Green SUMMARY
Veterinary surgeons know that cows in battery farms face much higher disease risks, yet they continue to support these ventures. Whether this is because they also know how much money they can make from the resulting disease is up to you to decide.
VETERINARY ENDORSEMENT As discussed in Dolphins in Paddling Pools (http://ht.ly/38Cm2), the veterinary profession seems to have a pathological inability to criticise people who threaten animal welfare. Indeed, they seem utterly convinced that polite diplomacy is always the best option. To be fair, it probably is the best option in many situations, but there are lots of other situations where all they actually achieve by conveniently deciding that it's better to work with people (and get paid for it) than work against them (and not get paid for it) is endorsement by association, as conclusivley demonstrated by the PR-friendly involvement of at least one vet in a proposed 8,100 cow lincolnshire battery farm project: "The farm will employ over 80 local staff including a fully qualified full time vet." Nocton Dairies (http://ht.ly/38Cz2) "...there will be 24 hour veterinary cover..." Nocton Dairies (http://ht.ly/38Cz2) "A vet will be on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week." Nocton Dairies (http://ht.ly/38Cz2)
I don't know who this person is, but whoever it is, their involvement, combined with everybody else's complete refusal to rock the boat, has given this project a veterinary seal of approval that's currently being used to endorse and market it, even though this slightly-more-than-zerograzing dairy farm represents yet another step away from the idyllic scenes portrayed in the advertising propaganda... "If dairy cows are not kept on pasture for parts of the year, i.e. they are permanently on a zerograzing system, there is an increased risk of lameness, hoof problems, teat tramp, mastitis, metritis, dystocia, ketosis, retained placenta and some bacterial infections." European Food Safety Authority, Scientific Opinion on the overall effects of farming systems on dairy cow welfare and disease (http://ht.ly/38CEC)
...and even though high yielding dairy cows (these particular cows will be expected to give 11,000 litres a year each - which is enough to fill a small swimming pool) are a major, and I do mean major, welfare concern: "Long term genetic selection for high milk yield is the major factor causing poor welfare, in particular health problems, in dairy cows. The milk yield has risen steadily over the last thirty years in Europe with approximately 50% of this increase estimated to be attributable to genetic selection for milk production efficiency…The genetic component of underlying milk yield has also been found to be positively correlated with the incidence of lameness, mastitis, reproductive
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MATTHEW WATKINSON • WEB: http://www.fishsnorkel.com • TWITTER: http://twitter.com/fishsnorkel
disorders and metabolic disorders.” - European Food Safety Authority, Scientific Opinion on the overall effects of farming systems on dairy cow welfare and disease (http://ht.ly/38CEC)
Don't get me wrong, there are already plenty of smaller battery farms out there, as one of the farmers behind the project has casually acknowledged: "Campaigners think cows should be like in the Anchor butter advert, with 50 to 100 cows dancing in a field,' he said. 'It is a lovely idea, but not the reality." Robert Howard (http://ht.ly/38CHl)
But this is the first on such a large scale and all the veterinary profession thinks it needs to do is jump aboard and accept the paycheck... “Vets are involved in every area where animals are exploited…” Bradley Viner, BVetMed, MSc(VetGP), DProf, MRCVS
...safe in the institutionally endorsed belief that it's better to change things from the inside, even though all that 'changing things from the inside' has managed to achieve thus far is escalating intensification and more welfare problems: "Long term genetic selection for high milk yield is the major factor causing poor welfare, in particular health problems, in dairy cows. The milk yield has risen steadily over the last thirty years in Europe with approximately 50% of this increase estimated to be attributable to genetic selection for milk production efficiency…The genetic component of underlying milk yield has also been found to be positively correlated with the incidence of lameness, mastitis, reproductive disorders and metabolic disorders." European Food Safety Authority, Scientific Opinion on the overall effects of farming systems on dairy cow welfare and disease (http://ht.ly/38CEC)
In the words of James Yeates, a Society of Practicing Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) council member: "Vets are, I think, very good at putting their fingers in the dyke – but do nothing about the rising water levels…When there is a conflict, vets tend to think it best to make the best of a bad job."
How convenient. Oh, and just so the veterinary profession can't continue to politely ignore the problems that have already been pointed out, here are a few of the conclusions reached by Professor Philip Lowe in his report on veterinary expertise in food animal production (http://ht.ly/38CLk): “…one is nevertheless left with the impression that training [in animal welfare] remains patchy and optional." "I have some doubt that new graduates are sufficiently prepared to handle the difficult judgements and dilemmas that animal welfare issues can pose." "The roles, responsibilities and even the basic training and competence of veterinarians in relation to the welfare of farm animals are unclear.” “If unacceptable conditions or cases of animal suffering are encountered [by vets], livestock keepers should be reminded of their legal duties and warned of the possibilities of prosecution." "I have found that there is some confusion between the profession, farmers and regulatory bodies about how inspections are handled, how private veterinarians work with enforcement agencies and how they prepare for potential prosecutions." "I believe that all would benefit from a mature debate on roles and responsibilities."
Has this debate happened? 2
MATTHEW WATKINSON • WEB: http://www.fishsnorkel.com • TWITTER: http://twitter.com/fishsnorkel
Of course it hasn't: “When you say you agree to a thing in principle, you mean you haven’t the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice” Spencer Tracy
Here's DEFRA on the role of vets in the growing lameness problem in the national dairy herd by the way: "The main stumbling block in the control of lameness appears to be related to the lack of awareness of the lameness level on farm by both herdsman and the veterinary profession. There is evidence that veterinary surgeons underestimate the level of cattle lameness more than herdsman." (http://ht.ly/38CMi)
And here's DairyCo, a representative body of the dairy industry: "It is estimated that 25% of the national herd is lame at any one time." (http://ht.ly/38CPq)
And here's the European Food Safety Authority again: "A prevalence of lameness of up to 2% is achievable on commercial farms. When the prevalence of recognisable locomotor difficulties in dairy cattle approaches 10% , this indicates that the existing housing and management systems are inadequate."
10%! The average farm is currently at 25% and, apart from the fact that 95% of dairy farms are still being endorsed by the various farm assurrance schemes, there's still a "lack of awareness of the lameness level on farm by both herdsman and the veterinary profession". What the hell is going on? Don't worry though, because, as pointed out by Mr John Blackwell, MRCVS - the last president of the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) - when the RSPCA tried to make a stand on the issue of dairy cow welfare last year, everything is just fine: "…if things are so bad how many prosecutions of dairy farmers have there been over the past 12 months?" (http://ht.ly/38CR7)
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