What to do with surplus calves

Federated Farmers will be submitting on proposed changes to the management of unwanted calves on-farm and encourages other farmers to do so.

By Ann ThompsonHAVE YOUR SAY: Federated Farmers will be submitting on proposed changes to the management of unwanted calves on-farm and encourages other farmers to do so.

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) is consulting both the industry and general public on the management of unwanted calves on farm. Any changes will be included in the Animal Welfare (dairy cattle) Code of Welfare.

According to the latest statistics collated by DairyNZ and LIC, the average New Zealand dairy herd in the 2012/13 season was 402 cows. As all rural New Zealanders know, and hopefully most urban ones, for every cow in milk there is a calf born, which meant that in the 2012/13 season, there were on average, 402 calves born on-farm.

Not all of those born will be heifer (female) calves. While some of these heifer calves will be kept and reared as replacement calves and to build up the herd numbers, some will be sold.

That leaves the male (bull) calves. While a few will be kept on-farm, many will be sold to grow as beef cattle or sold to the works as bobby calves.

Some farmers also choose to euthanise some calves on-farm, especially the weak ones.

The recent publicity around calves being slaughtered on-farm in Chile has prompted the Minister for Primary Industries to look at our own New Zealand regulations on euthanising calves on-farm. The current Code of Welfare for dairy cattle does not offer any guidance on what is acceptable practice on New Zealand farms where it is not an emergency procedure.

Euthanising any animal requires skill to achieve a rapid death, no matter what method is used, and no method is perfect every time. Federated Farmers is pleased that this skill is recognised within the proposed code.

The proposed methods are the use of a firearm or a captive bolt gun, while the use of blunt-force trauma is being ruled out as a routine procedure.

Emergencies happen on-farm, where sick and injured stock need to be put down quickly. Some calves are born that need to be put down straight away due to a deformity or an accident at birth, and when these occasions occur away from the farm shed, the quickest and most humane method may be blunt-force trauma. We appreciate that NAWAC has recognised this by allowing this method to be used in emergencies. The alternative is for farmers to carry a weapon every time they go around the farm, which is not a safe or sensible solution.

Federated Farmers will be submitting on these proposed changes and we encourage other farmers to do so as well. NAWAC needs to hear from those who deal with this every season. The consultation document can be found on the Ministry for Primary Industries' website, in the Public Consultation section.