NZ Farmers "Shocked" Over Undercover Calf Video

The footage released by animal welfare group SAFE over the weekend has prompted widespread condemnation from the dairy industry and politicians. The footage shows various forms of animal cruelty, including men throwing helpless live calves into the back of trucks and a man bashing a live calf before slitting its throat. Dead calves are also shown left in piles by farm gates.

MPI in conjunction with industry does a lot of work with farmers, transporters and processors to ensure the humane treatment of bobby calves and that everyone working with animals understand their obligations.

"Bobby calves are basically regarded as trash", Kriek says.

"Roadside pen collection and the calves placed within those pens are the responsibility of the farmer, not Down Cow Limited, who prefer to pick up the calves from sheds where they are protected from the elements".

He says the abuse the calves suffered is not the only animal welfare issue at play in the New Zealand dairy and is calling for a structural overhaul.

The Facebook post has reached more than 255,000 people and the video has been viewed 64,000 times.

Facebook user Penny Coleman says, "I am so disappointed with you SAFE". As an investigator I am used to seeing animal cruelty but the brutality I witnessed towards these calves was beyond belief.

"The farming community these days has a pretty sophisticated understanding of what's required around animal welfare".

Federated Farmers dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard, a Fonterra supplier based in Manawatu, said Fonterra and Open Country Dairy needed to tighten up the rules in their supplier handbooks.

However, Mandy Carter, SAFE head of campaigns, insists the video is not showing a minority.

A camera placed in the rafters of the Te Kauwhata slaughterhouse by an animal welfare group captured the images - young calves being thrown, kicked and even hit with a baton as they're prepared for slaughter.

Federated Farmers is shocked and appalled by footage that reveals brutal cruelty against bobby calves.

"We know that New Zealand is very sensitive about its global trading reputation, so we are going to talk to consumers of New Zealand dairy", he says.

"The footage we saw was horrific, and some of the incidents that Mr Kriek has talked about is something that has been phased out of the industry over a number of years", she says. "The footage we obtained shows that dairy production in New Zealand involves the systemic abuse of defenseless animals".

Following the undercover investigation, the organisations alerted the Ministry for Primary Industries to the abuse and provided film footage.