Dairy farmers have criticised BBC’s Countryfile show after a segment suggested that thousands of dairy bull calves were commonly shot at birth.
The episode, which aired on Sunday (13 August), provoked widespread criticism from farmers on social media.
Presenter Tom Heap explained that tens of thousands of dairy bull calves were shot on farms every year.
However, he couldn’t find a farmer who currently shoots newborn calves.
The programme was criticised heavily on social media when it used archive footage from 2008 of a farmer saying he shot bull calves at times due to low prices and TB restrictions.
He explained that no farmer wants to shoot calves. Data surrounding the issue is scarce.
A Twitter user named @ingham_tabitha said: “Thanks #countryfile 4 covering this I'm ignorant never thought had 2 keep cows preg 4 milk+shooting bull calves I may have 2 give up milk.”
Another said: “Apart from anything else dairy bull calves are worth a fortune at the moment so no one is likely to shoot them #madness #Countryfile”
