Dairy Giant's Calves Starve To Death

From a report on the site interest.co.nz by Bernard Hickey. Some people may find this video disturbing



"The video shows dozens of calves starving to death at Crafar Farms' Benneydale property between Tokoroa and Te Kuiti earlier this month. Poor management and the pressures of massive debts obtained during rapid expansion meant this farm was so poorly managed that none of the staff trained calves to drink milk, allowing them to die of dehydration in a muddy pen.

MAF's inspectors were called in to this farm many times yet it was allowed to keep operating. Days after this video was taken MAF inspectors visited the property and destroyed many of the calves, yet has said this was just a management issue and not worthy of prosecution.

Farm owner Allan Crafar was on the Fonterra Shareholders council for 6 years, while Westpac, Rabobank and PGG Wrightson Finance lent Crafar Farms around NZ$200 million to buy more than 20 such factory farms despite numerous prosecutions for dirty dairying. Crafar Farms is now trying to sell its farms because it cannot service its debts, which are now worth more than the land."