Day 291 - 31 Oct 96 - Page 16
1 They vary in age quite considerably." He said he did not
2 believe that McKeys had any specifications about the age of
3 the cow. He said, "I was not told they had. I would not
4 expect them to."
5
6 He was again being asked about the cows being used by
7 McKeys and that they were ex-dairy cows. He said that the
8 calves were usually removed from their mother less than one
9 or two weeks after being born in order that the dairy
10 industry could take the milk for humans, and he said "You
11 get a lot of vocalisation from the calf as a result of
12 being separated, which would certainly lead one to suppose
13 that the separation from the mother was disturbing to the
14 calf." When he was asked about the marketing of calves, he
15 said that the calves could be marketed or reared on another
16 farm. He said in terms of the marketing and transportation
17 of calves, "Certainly there was a lot of vocalisation, one
18 can hear in everyday life, as calves are transported about
19 the countryside. That could lead one to suppose that they
20 are disturbed."
21
22 On the following page, page 35 of the same day, day 20, he
23 said that, provided that the dairy cows settle to the first
24 insemination, then they would be inseminated about once a
25 year; that they are pregnant for nine months and so for a
26 substantial amount of the year that they were both pregnant
27 and lactating, or giving milk, and he agreed that it was
28 more than half a year, it was for most of the year. He
29 said that he would not be surprised if cows could live for
30 up to 25 or 30 years. Obviously, with the dairy industry
31 they are commonly killed off at about four years or so.
32 The reference to 25 to 30 years is on page 37, line 13. He
33 said that the cows would not have calves until they were
34 about two and a quarter years old and then they would have
35 three crops, as he called it, a calf every year, and then
36 they would go to slaughter.
37
38 He related about the problem of mastitis, a
39 production-related disease, and he said that he would agree
40 with the figure of 35 percent of all dairy cows getting
41 mastitis. He said it was a major welfare problem in dairy
42 cattle production, and that it could be painful for the
43 cow. That was on page 38. On page 39 you in fact asked
44 him, "Do dairy cattle, by reason of being dairy cattle,
45 suffer particularly from lameness?" He said, "Yes, there
46 are certain lameness diseases associated with dairy
47 production more than suckler cows."
48
49 Mr. Morris asked him about lameness is also especially
50 prevalent amongst dairy cows because of when they are
51 cooped up throughout the winter in sheds. He said, "If the
52 conditions underfoot are particularly damp, yes, and they
53 are on concrete, and if they are exposed, if the hoofs are
54 exposed to silage effluent, for example, yes, these things
55 can help to predispose or precipitate lameness." He was
56 asked about why cow meat was used for burger production
57 generally and he said, "The principal reason is price, it
58 is lower in price." He said, "There is less demand for
59 it. It is generally of poor quality when it comes to
60 conventional cooking methods when not processed."
