Supermarkets may have banned the shooting of male dairy calves but the killing continues, reveals new investigation
A new investigation by Animal Justice Project has been released showing abuse of young dairy calves at the hands of a leading UK ‘calf trader’ with links to major supermarkets, but also their fate at a slaughterhouse in Chester. With bans in place to prevent calf shootings on farms, has this blown the lid off the dairy industry’s new ‘dirty secret’?
While the shooting of day-old male dairy calves may have been effectively banned by many of the UK’s major supermarkets and dairy processors, the latest investigation by Animal Justice Project (AJP) has revealed a sordid story of abuse and wanton ignorance as retailers and producers continue to turn a blind eye to the fate of these innocent animals.
According to Red Tractor, by 2023, 95 per cent of milk produced in the UK will have come from dairies banning the “routine euthanasia” of calves on-farm. This includes bans and policy changes implemented by supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, plus Arla and Müller, the UK’s two largest milk processors and Red Tractor itself, arguably the UK’s foremost welfare label. However, Rural Payments Agency figures show that a staggering 65,000 calves under a month old were killed in UK slaughterhouses last year - more than the most recent figure of 60,000 day-old calves shot on-farm, as reported by the Guardian.
“Supermarket and industry bans may end the shooting to appease dairy consumers but the policies often do not cover the ‘onward trade’ of calves, which may mean many end up at markets and, ultimately, the slaughterhouse,” said AJP in a statement. “The banning of calf shooting may actually increase the number of calves ending up in the abattoir due to farmers having no choice but to send them off-farm.”
This has created a lucrative business for so-called ‘calf dealers’, the hidden middlemen who source male calves from dairy farms and markets and take them to slaughterhouses. A Food Standards Agency (FSA) survey from 2018 found that more than half of all calves slaughtered in the UK end up in abattoirs via these dealers.
One such dealer is Oaklands, known within the industry as one of the “killing teams”, and operating on the same site as a collection centre run by Blade Farming, an integrated beef supply chain and calf rearing company that through a collaboration with beef processor ABP, has links to Arla and Sainsbury’s. Using hidden cameras, AJP filmed Oaklands in operation over several months at the site and revealed a shocking culture of abuse and a general disregard for the wellbeing of the calves by key figures at Oaklands, promoting them to cease trading as a result.
AJP reported that after leaving Oaklands, dairy calves are either reared for beef or taken to slaughter at the G & Gb Hewitt abattoir in Chester, where Oaklands’ director Derek Whittall was filmed “leaving tiny calves as young as nine days old in the lairage overnight”.
In direct communications with AJP, Sainsbury’s stated that farmers must not knowingly sell calves to buyers for slaughter. Yet AJP alleges that calves from farms supplying Sainsbury’s via Müller were being collected by Oaklands, a dealer which then sends many of the calves to slaughter in Chester. Müller however told AJP that it does not prohibit “the sale of bull calves by dairy farmers” who supply them.
As well as exposing a hidden aspect of the dairy industry and the fact that young male dairy calves are still being killed no less brutally at the hands of slaughtermen, despite widespread welfare assurances given to consumers by retailers, big brand processors and welfare labels, the footage released also revealed the extent of abuse at Oaklands. Distressed calves shouted and sworn at by workers, thrown and kicked during loading and unloading, and left sometimes as long as 21 hours in pens without water or adequate feed.
Veterinarian Molly Vasanthakumar said that “calves naturally feed frequently throughout the day from their mothers. There is footage here showing calves offered a single milk feed, without any water or fibrous food, over 21 hours. Leaving young animals with insufficient feed and water not only breaches legislation but impacts the welfare of these calves.”
AJP identified one of the perpetrators of the abuse as Josh Whittall, son of Oakland’s director Derek Whittall, seen throwing calves up and down trailer and truck ramps. According to paperwork seen by AJP, Josh Whittall also transported calves for Blade Farming with its links to ABP, Sainsbury’s and Arla.
At the Chester slaughterhouse used by Oaklands, Derek Whittall, who has a previous conviction for sending ineligible calves to slaughter under the government’s Calf Processing Aid Scheme was filmed dropping off tiny, unweaned calves out of hours as young as nine days old - they were left overnight in the lairage, unchecked by an Animal Welfare Officer (AWO) which is a potential breach in slaughter regulations, in draughty conditions that may have increased their risk of suffering cold stress.
Calves filmed being slaughtered at the Chester site on other days were killed up to almost a minute after being stunned, yet the FSA and Humane Slaughter Association (HSA) recommend no more than 15 seconds to ensure animals do not begin to recover consciousness before they die of blood loss. Grosvenor Farms - a mega-dairy supplying Tesco via Müller - was also found to be linked to the slaughterhouse, while other calves filmed being killed there came via Livestock Supplies Ltd.
The approach to “onward trade” of dairy calves adopted by the major supermarkets, Arla, Müller and Red Tractor, all vary greatly. While Sainsbury’s states that farmers mustn’t knowingly sell calves off to slaughter, in communications with AJP, Co-op said it is the “farmers prerogative to choose how they should sell their calves”. Marks & Spencer welfare policies come into serious question, with M&S stating that the “final destination of calves at auction marts would be unknown”. How then can so-called high welfare supermarkets ever truly guarantee welfare when by their own admission, so much is unknown about the fate of the animals in their supply chain.
The fact is that welfare standards are illusions created by an industry that relies on consumers feeling at ease with their purchases of dairy, meat, eggs and other animal products. But they are in fact a lie as revealed by this investigation and countless others like it. There can be no way to guarantee an animal’s welfare, but more crucially, no such thing as “adequate welfare” when the end is just the same - violent and unnecessary.
“Whilst many retailers have policies in place prohibiting the shooting of calves, the ‘slaughter calves’ are clearly falling through gaps,” said Claire Palmer, founder of Animal Justice Project. “Ultimately, the solution to the bull calf problem in this country lies with the consumer and we urge them to ditch dairy today and choose instead compassionate plant-based alternatives now widely available on every high street”.
Animal Justice Project is a UK-based organisation campaigning peacefully to end the use and exploitation of animals on farms and in laboratories. It carries out groundbreaking undercover investigations and provides public educational resources about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. Visit AnimalJusticeProject.com and Dairystillkills.org.
Andrew Gough is Media and Investigations Manager at Surge.
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