Calves being exported for veal are heard bawling with hunger on the ferry crossing, and can be 21 hours without food as they are removed from their mothers before they are weaned. Numerous breaches of animal welfare in marts here as bull calves are considered worthless because they can't be used for dairy or fattened up enough for beef.
This is absolutely sickening.
Calves under 42 days old "being kicked, dragged, thrown, and hit using sticks in several marts around the country."
And yet we hear that animal welfare is a priority ... 🙄
Good work by rte to finish of an industry.I’m sure it will be sensational stuff from the truth matters station .shoot all farmers
That’s quite a persecution complex you have there.
I’m happy to believe it’s a minority of operators not following guidelines and those that don’t deserve what they get.
If the farmers, mart and haulage employees involved followed animal welfare protocols this wouldn't be highlighted.
Abuse and neglect of young calves isn't acceptable.
Shoot all farmers? Lol
Sure they're probably the ones with the rifles.
Farmer types will be up in arms that RTE is having a go at their precious industry as if that industry was the most important in all of Ireland.
The Healy Raes will be quick out of the block shooting the messenger, and sometimes RTE deserves a dig, but in this instance, it's just good journalism, something a Public Service Broadcaster should be doing as part of their remit.
Farmers at the end of the day are business people so will treat their animals accordingly. Yet, they expect us to hold them in high esteem. Apparently, they are the custodians of the land, yet they poison it more than they look after it.
Remember recently some outraged rural TD going on about the Greens culling their "precious" cows. No problems turning a blind eye to this sickening practice of how they deal with bull calves though. They're lovely gentle creatures and deserve much better than this disgusting fate.
Gov starts a PR campaign against farmers.
The facts are not correct in that article, bull calves will be removed from a dairy cow straight away. Seems like a lot of pushing the truth to get a story. The laws are already in place to make sure the life stock are treated correctly
The government want to turn people against the farmers so expect RTE doing loads of these types of programs while they try to remove the national herd.
A farmer make money off their herd. They won't mistreat them.
This has nothing to do with the Healy Rae. This is clearly a tactic bu the government to go after farmers after the reaction to reducing the national herd. RTE are the puppet in this case as usual. Certainly an organisation not to praise, especially when they are so easily bought off.
The great idea is to reduce the national herd and bring in meat from overseas which is worse for environment. Look at what is happening in France and NL etc. All the same. It is reducing the farmers in Europe and bringing in from overseas. We should be stopping this. Not clapping the government while they screw us all.
Plus you know what will happen the price of food once it is out of our control?
is exporting 1000s of calves every month not removing the national herd anyway? national herd is a ridiculous phrase anyway
Best to watch the programme and make your own mind up.
The promo suggests that dumb animals are needlessly suffering for profit and that can't be right.
No
New calves are born every year. The push from the government is to reduce the number of cattle in Ireland so they have to go somewhere.
So as we export Irish beef, at the same time we are importing, we are exporting meat.
How does that make sense if the drive to remove cattle is to lower CO2? why not just reduce the import/export business and use the product from Irish farmers?
Why don't RTE tell us a story on that
https://www.irishexaminer.com/farming/arid-41158804.html#:~:text=14%2C119%20tonnes%20of%20beef%20were,the%20first%20quarter%20of%202023.
Central Statistics Office trade data show that 14,119 tonnes of beef were imported in the first quarter - an increase of 5,154 tonnes (58%) on the same period in 2022.
The United Kingdom (12,920 tonnes), Spain (511 tonnes), Netherlands (150 tonnes), Denmark (147 tonnes) and Germany (100 tonnes) were the top five countries of origin for the imports.
During the same period, Ireland exported 117,720 tonnes of beef, including 53,375 tonnes to the United Kingdom.
we export something like 90% of our beef and dairy though. That beef etc. that we're importing I would imagine is coming in pre packed foods, ready meals, frozen stuff, convenience food and cheap meat for chicken fillet rolls etc.
There are no plans to limit the amount of cattle in Ireland anyway.
They are bulls from dairy cattle so no good for meat and one bull can service thousands of cows, especially with AI. They will killed ASAP if they aren't sold. What is needed to fix this is for sexed seaman to get better then 85% female, it's 50% naturally, and be more virile.
Farmers don't want bull dairy calves and are doing their best not be breath them. If someone can come up with a use for them they will not be killed at birth, where the farmer has to pay to dispose of the carcus, or sold to the veal trade.
Did the RTE reporter call the Gardai or ISPCA when they witnessed the animal cruelty or did they just record it for the story? I haven't heard of any prosecutions so RTE obviously didn't care about the treatment of bull calves and just want a sensational story to bury another story.
Yes they have made numerous attempts in reducing cattle in Ireland, see article below and plenty more around.
Maybe we shouldn't be bringing in cheap s**t meat then if people want to complain about exporting? especially when this is also increasing the size of the populations waistlines.
This line alone says it all for the rest of the article
For the unweaned calves it’s a long time without mother’s milk.
If this company is breaking the EU regulations they should be taken stopped and whatever the EU can do in fines etc this should be done of course. That is what the story should be about, not a blatant attack on farmers in Ireland.
https://www.farmersjournal.ie/farmers-will-have-less-cattle-but-greater-income-ryan-709618
Some people are just tossers 😔
I'm nearly in tears watching this investigation on RTE
How anyone can do this to another living thing is beyond my comprehension
That's the leader of the Green party outlining his wishes to reduce the number of cattle to reduce emissions. There's no plans to do this in reality though.
I'm not complaining about exporting but I got the impression you were saying we'd have to import more if we stopped producing as much, that's not true, and I'm not sure you're going to convince supermarkets not to sell products that contain foreign meat, it's a free market.
It's happening all over Europe. Look at France/NL etc. Look at what farmers are doing in those countries and others.
I am saying that if companies are exporting they should be held responsible. This RTE article is going after the farmers and not after the transport companies. You not find that odd?
From a World point of view, import and exporting is increasing CO2. Shipping meat from Argentina to Ireland is removing Co2 how? if we reduce the amount of meat produced in Ireland then how will we provide to a growing population? it has to come from somewhere.
Can’t watch this.
Ireland’s treatment of animals is a disgrace.
What exactly did you expect when you turned it on?
I don't like animal cruelty so I won't watch this because based on the article they are hardly going to show the good bits. It's I guess full shock and horror mode for editor department in RTE. So no thanks I have no need to watch and hope the people involved are brought to full force of law
This is clearly a tactic bu the government to go after farmers after the reaction to reducing the national herd. RTE are the puppet in this case as usual.
Will ya **** off out of that! Only conspiracy-lead loons think that the Government has editorial control over RTE never mind investigative programmes like Prime Time investigates. If you have evidence to the contrary please provide otherwise, you just outed yourself as a loon.
we could reduce the amount of beef/dairy that we produce by like 80% and still have enough to feed Ireland with those products. Remember that we're importing millions of tonnes of animal feed every year from places like Brazil and Argentina to feed these animals too, which isn't very sustainable.
It's more of an expose against intensive farming and shows a gapping hole into how nice and 'friendly' Irish farming is.
Farmers will put their head in the sand as usual.
Ah lads, poor little calves.
I get that farmers need an income, but there has to be a more humane way. It's heartbreaking actually.
There are plans already in place which is already making this happen
Ireland? Some peoples treatment of animals would be more accurate. Hopefully the book is thrown at them.
Not all farmers export calves or sell them in marts
i didn’t turn it on.
Thats what I said in my post.
The thinking that there is a vendetta against farmers is conspiracy theory stuff at its finest.
Maybe direct the angry ranting at the people responsible for abusing animals?
Department of Agriculture don’t care.
https://m.sundayworld.com/crime/courts/agriculture-official-admits-to-animal-neglect-charges-at-co-sligo-farm/40532233.html
I dislike RTE but telling the story here was much more important.
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