Tail-docking fine - Cruelty on dairy farms

Domestic farm animals sometimes live in circumstances that seem, if not cruel, then far less than ideal.

The unfortunate and abused battery hen came to symbolise the industrialisation of farming but change came about after a series of high-profile campaigns. And though this seems a constant battle, consumer pressure, based on paying a premium for animals reared in particular conditions, has played a significant part in changing how producers care for animals.

That interface of efficiencies and traditional, less cold-hearted animal husbandry was highlighted in a court in Mallow, Co Cork, yesterday when a farmer was convicted of animal cruelty because he docked cows’ tails.

In the first case of its kind in the State he was fined €3,000 — to be taken from his single farm payment — and the judge also imposed a four-month suspended sentence. A Department of Agriculture witness said there is no scientific evidence to support docking cows’ tails so this must be regarded as wanton cruelty. Even in a world where food production is ever more pressurised this behaviour cannot be tolerated.