Extra cows saved in UK ‘megafarms’, animal welfare campaigners have warned

After the BBC noticed the rise of “megafarms”, animal welfare campaigners have warned that extra cows could possibly be saved indoors for his or her productive lives.

Freedom of Info (FOI) requests by the BBC present that the variety of large-scale beef and dairy cattle farms in Britain has elevated from 756 to 802 in 5 years, now housing greater than 915,000 cows.

Marketing campaign group Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) mentioned the rise in large-scale livestock farming was “deeply worrying” as many could be intensive megafarms preserving livestock year-round.

The NFU mentioned it was not the dimensions of the farm or whether or not the animals had been saved outside or indoors that judged welfare however how the animals had been managed.

The BBC submitted an FOI request to the Animal and Plant Well being Company (APHA) which revealed that there are presently 802 farm operations in England, Wales and Scotland with greater than 700 dairy or beef cattle.

A farm enterprise has a file capability of as much as 12,000 cows, though any single farm might preserve its cattle in small herds at a number of completely different websites.

In Northern Eire, there are 141 farms with greater than 700 cattle, totaling greater than 141,000 cows, in line with the Division for Agriculture, Surroundings and Rural Affairs (Daira).

No UK regulatory authority has been capable of present an correct variety of large-scale farms utilizing constantly housed livestock techniques, typically referred to by animal welfare campaigners as “megafarms”.

The newest of the UK Govt Cattle Farm Practice SurveyRevealed in 2019, discovered that 8% of huge farms in England with a minimum of 150 cows saved their herds indoors all yr spherical.

The survey discovered that as much as 3% of small farms with fewer than 150 animals use the no-graze system.

One farmer, who retains as much as 1,000 dairy cattle on one web site, advised the BBC he believed present estimates of the variety of farms utilizing such ‘no-graze’ techniques had been “very low”.

Fraser Jones, a third-generation farmer in Powys, Wales, who has a complete of 5,000 cattle throughout seven websites, mentioned: “Lots of people are doing it however they do not at all times say it as a result of they comprehend it causes a backlash. is.”

Mr Jones mentioned increasingly farmers had been turning to such indoor techniques as a result of they protected animals from the consequences of maximum climate and allowed better monitoring and management of their well being and dietary consumption, main to raised milk yields. is

Mr Jones mentioned the important thing to making sure excessive animal welfare requirements was specializing in the employees engaged on the farm, the coaching they acquired and the way the animals had been managed.

“In case you’re not treating your animals proper they will not carry out. They don’t seem to be going to provide sufficient milk. It is so simple as that,” he mentioned.

CIWF mentioned the expansion of livestock “megafarms” had gone “missed” as a result of many had been hidden from public view.

Anthony Subject, CIWF’s UK head, mentioned of the information, obtained by means of a BBC FOI request: “This deeply related information clearly reveals their scale and the determined, damaged and unsustainable meals system we create. “

Critics say intensive no-grace techniques can result in poor well being circumstances, illness outbreaks in overcrowded sheds and the routine overuse of antibiotics, resulting in the potential growth of antimicrobial resistance.

The RSPCA mentioned it was “against the transfer in direction of everlasting livestock, whether or not beef or dairy”.

Nevertheless, the NFU mentioned steady cattle “megafarms” had been nonetheless not frequent within the UK.

It mentioned there have been fewer than 20 farms with greater than 5,000 beef cattle and “just a few farms” with greater than 1,000 dairy cows.

The NFU’s vice-president, Rachel Hallows, mentioned: “Compliance with husbandry, well being, welfare and established biosecurity protocols are a very powerful components in good follow on farm, not the dimensions or kind of farm system.”

Liam Sinclair, professor of animal science at Harper Adams College, mentioned financial pressures have been forcing dairy farms to extend herd dimension for the previous 50 years.

He mentioned that there’s typically an issue of lack of land for grazing.

“As herds enhance in dimension and grazing turns into harder to handle, the probability that cows will keep indoors constantly – and from start,” he mentioned.

The Division for Surroundings, Meals and Rural Affairs (Defra) mentioned it couldn’t touch upon the enterprise choices of farms that selected to develop and function large-scale models.

All UK governments have mentioned they’re dedicated to sustaining excessive requirements in relation to farm animal welfare.