Battery Farming Cows – Super Dairy Farm Toned Down
A new planning application has now been put forward that halves the number of cows down to 3,770 and plans to allow the cattle outside for limited periods of time in an effort to qualm fears about animal cruelty.
The state-of-the-art unit will still be the biggest dairy farm in Western Europe, with expectations to extend the unit to 8,000 cows within two years.
British dairy farms usually have no more than 150 cows, making it hard to compete against milk produced in the US on ‘mega dairy farms’. The UK imports more milk than ever before and two dairy farmers go out of business every day.
One of the farmers behind the plan, Peter Wiles, said it was “inevitable” that intensive dairy farms will be built in Britain over the next few years, sparking fears that even more small farmers will go out of business and cows grazing the countryside will become a thing of the past.
Nocton Dairies have insisted that the animals will be well looked after, with a full time vet employed on the farm. There will also be an opportunity for the cattle to go outdoors for approximately two months throughout the year.
However, animal rights groups have insisted that it is cruel to keep animals indoors for most of the year and fear standards will start to slip as more “super dairies” are built in Britain.
Compassion in World Farming and WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) said they would fight a, “united, high profile, science-based and consumer-led campaign,” against the plans.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
