Australian Animal Rights Campaign to Help Calves

Here's the full article from the Weekly Times Now...

ANIMAL rights groups have begun a campaign against the dairy industry's treatment of bobby calves.

Australian Dairy Farmers says calves can be left unfed for 30 hours before slaughter but the RSPCA says the practice is "cruel".

Animals Australia has a video on its website showing calves being roughly dragged off utes and thrown to the ground.

RSPCA scientific officer (farm animals) Melina Tensen said there had been no independently funded research into the effects of leaving calves unfed for 30 hours. Dairy Australia commissioned a blood-test study which showed that calves deteriorated after 24 hours off feed, she said.

The study showed a limit of 24 hours without food "would be better", she said.

Australian Dairy Farmers animal health and welfare chairman David Basham, said studies had shown "no adverse affects on welfare up to 30 hours".

However, he said some practices shown in the Animals Australia video were not condoned by the industry, "dragging them off trucks and things like that".