CARRIAGE OF CALVES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 443, 27 August 1928, Page 11

CARRIAGE OF CALVES

CRUELTY DENIED (From. Our Own Correspondent) . HAMILTON, To-day. Every possible care is being taken to treat veal calves humanely declared Mr. S. C. G. Lye, managing-director of the Waikato and Thames Valley Cooperative Calf By-produce Company, Ltd., in reply to complaints made by the Auckland inspector of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that young calves intended for slaughter in connection with the boneless veal trade were subjected to cruelty. Mr. Lye said his company was handling an average of 2,000 calves a day and had up to date this season dealt with over 40,000 calves. The average truck load would be about 40 calves, which allowed the Galves ample space for free movement. Too much space, said Mr. Lye, was not a good thing owing to the fact that in shunting operations calves were liable to be knocked about. The percentage of dead calves arriving at the works proved conclusively, said Mr. Lye, that every care was being exercised in the handling of the calves. Last year 0.05 per cent, of the calves handled by the company died in transit to the freezing works. Mr. Lye said if he could ’isolate a case of cruelty he would not hesitate to institute proceedings against offenders.

Mr. Lye said it was true that on one day about 3,000 calves arrived at the works, but as the slaughtermen were capable of killing 2,600 calves a day, he did not think as many as 1,000 vealers were left over until next day. This was a rare occurred-e, and as the flush of the season had now been passed, complaints under this head were not likely to recur.