Stop Tasmanian Animal Cruelty

Bobby Calves - Victoria 2007

Animal Liberation NSW
Media Release 4/3/08

Disturbing undercover footage of the treatment of bobby calves in Victoria has been posted on YouTube:

Bobby Calves Journey Part 1

(note: you can view these videos here, but the 'Download video!' link will not work - to download, click on the video to go to YouTube and download from there)

Bobby Calves Journey Part 2


In recent months a Victorian team have been filming the pitiful journey of the bobby calves from the farm to the saleyard and then the abattoir.
 
Spokesperson for the team, Cherie Wilson said, “We witnessed the worst cases of animal cruelty you could see anywhere in the world. The calves were constantly goaded with electric prods. Those that were too weak to walk were dragged and thrown onto the trucks. When they reached the abattoir the treatment was the same. One worker in the footage yells at the calves ‘Why can’t you bloody walk?’ It’s obvious why they can’t walk – they are weak, exhausted and starving. We pride ourselves on good standards of animal welfare in this country. This mistreatment is totally unacceptable and must be stopped.”

The dark side of dairy is little known to the public. Images depicting cows and calves contentedly grazing together are not part of contemporary dairies.

Ms Lynda Stoner from Animal Liberation NSW said,  “The dairy cow’s calf is taken away from her when barely hours old, the mother is again impregnated and  the cycle of grief, loss and suffering continues. Approximately 27% of female calves are kept for the dairy cycle, the remaining calves, called bobby calves, are sent to the saleyards. At less than a week old they are crammed into trucks and transported long distances to abattoirs. By the time they arrive they are almost dead from exhaustion. A total of one million male and female calves are slaughtered each year in Australia.”

For further information contact:
Cherie Wilson  0400 889 623
Lynda Stoner   0433 950 564

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