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Rerrick Park Farm – Dumfries & GallowayFinalist – Dairy Farmer of the Year 2011 (Fergus McDowall)FootageAnimal Aid’s footage wastaken in August 2012.“We want happy,healthy cowsand to enjoywhat we do...”Fergus McDowall,Farmers Weekly,20th September 2011BackgroundRerrick Park Farm is a family run dairy establishment. It is a zero-grazingoperation with around 600 Holstein cows kept in sheds. Housing includes an‘organic, high-welfare super unit’ that houses 400 and was built with a grantfrom the Scotland Rural Development Programme. 21 It is an open-sided shedand boasts extra-wide passages, tipping troughs and sandbed cubicles. The farmcurrently has another large shed under construction.The company has a contract with the Co-Op through Wiseman Dairies, whichwas secured largely due to the building of the new dairy. 20The farm recently received planning permission to erect a 41m wind turbine topower the dairy. 21What we saw was an example ofthe now infamous zero-grazing‘mega-dairies’ where hundredsof cows are confined to barrenconcrete sheds, for most, if notall, of the year. The cowequivalent of battery henproduction, it is widelyrecognised as inhumane and isanother step towards the totalobjectification of ‘dairy animals’and their offspring. Zero-grazingregimes are designed to exploita cow’s reproductive and milkproducingcapacity to itsextreme, while often disposingof the calf she carries for ninemonths as a waste by-product. 22It is extremely depressing thatsuch an oppressive, not to saycontentious, dairy cowproduction system should besingled out for such high praise.During filming a dead calf wasfound outside a pen, his motherstaring through the bars at hisbody. Nearby were live calves,separated from their mothersinto small, black crates. Severalwere seen calling out repeatedlyduring filming.The main area for adult cattlewas very much as expected for azero-grazing regime, consistingof a barren, featureless unit.Around the edge of this yardwere cubicles divided by metalbars. With just a thin layer ofsand or ash on the floor, this iswhere the cows must sleep. Thefarmer has indicated that thecows are inside most of the time,with ‘a portion’ going out duringthe summer.Award Winning Farmers Exposed: The Best of the Best? 6
Bedfordia, Twinwood Pig Unit:Pigs with tail infectionsConclusionAnimal Aid has conducted dozens ofinvestigations inside British farms anddocumented appalling welfare standardsand many breaches of the law. In an effortto show that these are not ‘bad apples’ butthe norm, we filmed inside pig farms, in2008, owned or run by directors of theBritish Pig Executive (BPEX). Among thescenes captured were: pregnant andnursing sows incarcerated in farrowingcrates; dead, sick and dying piglets litteringthe pens; animals wading through filth orliving in utterly barren environments; alack of bedding; and a lack ofenvironmental enrichment, despite thelaw stating that this must be provided.F J Bosworth & Sons:Piglets in barren ‘rescue decks’Then, as now, the reality conflictedvividly with the industry’s marketinghype.Steanbow Farm:Crowded chicken shedsWhat we have found during this Farmerof the Year investigation is typical of thefarms in which we have filmed over thepast decade. We believe the conditions aresymptomatic of a ‘race to the bottom’ thatis becoming increasingly evident in Britishfarming; a drive to increase profits at theexpense of the wellbeing of animals, whoare seen as mere units of production.Sunny Hill Free RangeEggs, Detchant Farm:Dead chickenWhile high welfare standards are oftenclaimed when promoting British meat,dairy and eggs, just one of the 15 judgesfor the 2012 awards profiled on theFarmers Weekly website made anymention of animal welfare. Instead, thefocus was on cold ‘efficiency’ and‘profitability’. 23The award winning farms in ourinvestigation show that even thoseestablishments considered to be thefarming industry’s ‘very best’ fall wellshort of public expectations. Many peoplewant to believe that as long as animalshave a good life and a humane death, itis acceptable to eat their flesh, eggs andmilk. But if the very ‘best farmers in thecountry’ are unable to meet this basictest, what hope is there for animals rearedon the thousands of farms that don’twin prizes?Rerrick Park Farm:Cows in sandbed cubiclesAward Winning Farmers Exposed: The Best of the Best? 7
Page 1 and 2: Steanbow FarmBedfordia, Twinwood Pi
Page 3 and 4: F J Bosworth & Sons - EssexWinner -
Page 5: Sunny Hill Free Range Eggs, Detchan

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