Day 020 - 28 Jul 94 - Page 35


     
     1
         Q.   Going to the mother, the separation of the calf from the
     2        mother is very disturbing to the mother, is it not?
              A.  It is a difficult question to answer.
     3
         Q.   I heard a cow scream for about a week.
     4
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, you have to ask a question.
     5
         MR. MORRIS:  Have you heard things like that, cows crying out
     6        when their calves are taken?
              A.  Certainly some cows vocalise quite a lot when they are
     7        newly separated from their calves.  I would add that this
              may not go on for very long; it varies a lot between
     8        individual cows; some seem to get upset, yes.
 
     9   Q.   In the breeding of dairy cattle linked to beef production
              are some of the calves bred to be larger than normally
    10        would be the case?
              A.  Could you clarify that question, please?
    11
         Q.   For example, do dairy cows suffer from having over sized
    12        calves or difficulty in calfing and subjected to false
              delivery, for example?
    13        A.  Some do.
 
    14   Q.   Is there a mortality rate from this which would be higher
              than, say, in the natural environment?
    15        A.  What do you mean by "natural environment"?
 
    16   Q.   I do not know.  I think a cow that is free to have calves
              when it wanted to?
    17        A.  An important component in dystocia, which is the name
              for calving difficulty, is firstly the size of the calf,
    18        secondly, the size of the dam.  It is usually recognised
              in the industry that you should not put a large breed of
    19        sire(?) on a heffer, for example, because you will be
              running the risk of having dystocia.
    20
         Q.   I am trying to whip through this.  I will leave things out
    21        but we will have a witness later on in the case.  The
              cows, dairy cows, dairy cattle, basically they are
    22        inseminated, is it, say, on average once a year, something
              like that, pregnant once a year?
    23        A.  Provided they settle to the first insemination, they
              are only inseminated about once a year, yes.
    24
         Q.   They are nine months pregnant, yes?
    25        A.  Yes.
  
    26   Q.   Like a human, in fact? 
              A.  Yes. 
    27
         Q.   And so for a substantial amount of the year is it not a
    28        fact they are both pregnant and lactating, giving milk?
              Yes.
    29
         Q.   More than half a year, most of the year?
    30        A.  Yes.
 

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