Unfortunate cruelty revelations led to the dismissal of a worker from an organic farm which produces award-winning cheeses for farmers markets and retailers upmarket.
Bath Soft Cheese Co makes several’supreme champ’ cheeses and claims that it puts the welfare of the cows first.
The website also features the motto “Look after your cows, and your cows’.”
Animal Justice Project advocates for cruelty, however, pointing out that seven months of secret videotaping was done on the farm’s dairy farms by the company.
Claire Palmer, founder of Animal Justice Project, stated that “footage on the multi-award winning organic dairy is stark contrast to what the farm portrays.”
She added: ‘Callous kicking, slapping, punching, yelling and swearing at cows; the desperation and anguish of calves who cried for days after being separated from their mothers; and the pitiful individual housing afforded to youngsters for up to a month post-separation preventing play and other normal, social behaviours’
The video shows that at least one cow was showing signs of severe lameness while only days-old calves were placed in pens with limited space. They had very little contact with each other.
One member of staff was seen hitting cows with plastic pipes and their legs, as well as slapping and punching them in the faces.
The footage showed the cows bellowing for several hours as they were separated from their calves.
The video shows that at least one cow was showing signs of severe lameness while only days-old calves were placed in pens that had very limited space.
Bath Soft Cheese Co. makes several’supreme champ’ cheeses. It claims it is committed to the welfare and well-being of the cows.
Marc Bekoff is a professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado. He said that it was never okay to kick and hit farmed animals. This footage shows this.
Images of the calves were taken during “debudding”, which is when their horns are removed.
The ethically most responsible approach is to send bull calves for slaughter immediately after they are born.
Bath Soft Cheese, based around a dairy farm in Kelston, supplies organic retailers such as Able & Cole, Planet Organic and farmers markets.
Wyfe Of Bath, Merry Wyfe and Bath Blue are just a few of the many award-winning products.
Hugh Padfield is the family who has run the Park Farm’s 240-acre farm since 1914. This is completely unacceptable. We have taken discipline action against the staff member involved and will ask him to leave.
The business’s owners claim they are horrified by the video footage of the behavior of one herdsman. However they deny the allegations.
Marc Bekoff, Professor Emeritus of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado was shown the footage by the Animal Justice Project.
He stated that it was not acceptable to kick or hit farmed animals especially when there is nowhere for them to go.
“Cows have the ability to tell between gentle and rough handling.
Molly Vasanthakumar a vet said that lame cow footage is most likely due to long waiting periods in concrete collecting yards.
“On this farm calves are kept alone in small pen with only occasional contact from other animals, except through bars,” she said. The young, curious animals in such conditions are not expected to exhibit natural behaviors. It’s impossible to determine.
The images showed calves being handled during debudding. This involves taking their horns off with a hot iron.
Claire Palmer is the founder and director of Animal Justice Project. She stated: “Footage on this award-winning organic milkery stands in stark contrast with the image painted by the farm.
“Callous kicks, slappings, punching and swearing at cows; desperation, anguish, and housing for children for as long as a month after separation preventing them from playing with other social, normal behaviours.
Hugh Padfield is the family who has run the Park Farm’s 240-acre farm since 1914. This is completely unacceptable. It is completely unacceptable. We took disciplinary action on the employee involved, and he will soon be leaving our farm.
“Our philosophy is to be friendly, open, accessible, honest and transparent in all we do. This is why there are public viewing areas at the farm.
“Our goal is to ensure the welfare of our farm’s animals and expect all staff members to do so.
The video footage, Mr Padfield claimed, gave an inaccurate view of the company’s activities.
One member of staff was seen hitting cows with plastic pipes and hitting their legs, hindquarters and udders.
The calves who have just been separated from their mothers are kept separately in pens. This is to ensure that they get enough milk every day. He said that once they feel strong, they can be moved to larger pens and placed with calves their age.
“We kept lame cows separate in the central loose-bedded space, which was filmed by one of our cameras. A viewing area covers this area. This area is used to inspect the cows and must be cleared by the vet, who regularly visits.
“Dehorning” is done to prevent cows from injuring one another. It is performed under local anaesthesia with veterinary guidance.
The reason bull calves are being sent to slaughter and not for meat production was due to an epidemic of bovine TB. The welfare group rejected this explanation.
“We are worried that the footage is deliberately edited to mislead and selectively selected, and not portrayed in context. It does not reflect what goes on on our farm every day, where animal welfare has been at the core of everything we do.