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."

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