Whisperer shows that happier cows make tastier beef

A cow whisperer who inspired a Hollywood movie has overhauled a leading Irish abattoir to make the lives of cattle easier in their final hours.

Renowned American scientist Dr Temple Grandin — who was played by Claire Danes in a recent biopic — has single-handedly changed the beef industry around the world by proving happy cows make tastier beef.

The autistic animal scientist taken on by McDonald’s to improve their hamburgers is now bringing her caring techniques for handling animals in a stress-free way to Ireland by designing special new holding pens in the ABP abattoir in Clones in Co Monaghan.

Dr Grandin, who features on this week’s Ear To The Ground, campaigned to reduce the prodding of cattle with electric goads by showing a humane approach makes much better quality meat.

She said: “There is research to show if you poke cattle with electric goads in the last five minutes you will get tougher meat. Bruised meat has to be cut out and thrown away.”

She designed the holding pens or a lairage in the Irish abattoir with curved solid walls, baffled gate latches to cut down noise, and uniform colour and lighting to reduce stress on the cattle.

The curved walls ensure each animal is prevented from seeing what lies ahead and just concentrates on the hind quarters of the animal in front of it.

The scientist — named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world — said she started campaigning for change when she saw the cruel practices in abattoirs in her home state of Arizona in the seventies.

She said: “They had a mindset of handling them roughly.

“I was trying to show them if you handle them quietly it will be a lot better for the meat quality and reduce the bruising.”

George Mullan, general manager of ABP, said he has already noticed a huge difference in the behaviour of cattle at the plant since Dr Grandin arrived to give it a makeover.

He said: “We have absolutely noticed a difference. They’re happier animals and calmer animals at all times.

“There is a lot less vocalisation which proves the animals are calmer. We have benefits with regard the meat-eating quality of the final product.

“We have done blood cortisol tests on the animals and it has proven when they are in the lairage their levels are well below industry standards. Animal welfare is a very major concern of the consumer in this present day.”

Dr Grandin also developed a scientific scoring system to improve livestock handling by looking at conditions from an animal’s perspective which was championed by American fast food outlets McDonald’s and Wendy’s.

She said: “What made people change at home is when McDonald’s and Wendy’s started auditing plants and when they kicked some plants off the approved supplier list for abusing cattle then people got more serious about it

“When I started out in 1999 with the McDonald’s audits they might have been zapping every animal four of five times.

“Now the good plants are down to no more than 5% moved with the electric goad.”

Ear To The Ground will be shown on RTÉ One on tonight at 8.30pm.