On Saturday 1st April 2017, Declan Bowens of VEGO (Vegan Education on the Go) appeared with Irish sheep farmer John Fagan on Countrywide on RTE Radio 1 in Dublin.
During the programme, Fagan made a number of admissions about standard practices on farms, such as the separation of calves from mother cows, and the castration of the other animals who are used as if they are food. Fagan asserted that the role of other animals is to "provide food for people."
He also admitted: "That’s good farming practice, you can’t have all your male animals intact on a farm, I mean a cow won’t be able to feed her calf and to provide milk for people. That’s why they take them away. They rear them on artificially and that’s just farming practice, that's the method of farming we use today to provide food for people."
This was said in response to Declan Bowens saying that other animals are artificially inseminated and castrated on Irish farms.
Mr. Fagan added this: "They wean their animals. They have to be taken away for farming to function. It’s an impossible debate – of course it’s terrible, when you put it into that context, to take a baby away from its [sic] mother but – that’s the reality of it. Of course, in that context, it’s cruel but you cannot just say that the animal is psychologically distressed after it."
This was said in response to Declan Bowens stating that cows may call out for their calves for weeks after they are taken away from them, and calves also call for their mothers, which Fagan denied.
These comments can be heard in this edited clip immediately below, and the whole piece can be heard at the bottom of this blog entry.
During the programme, Fagan made a number of admissions about standard practices on farms, such as the separation of calves from mother cows, and the castration of the other animals who are used as if they are food. Fagan asserted that the role of other animals is to "provide food for people."
He also admitted: "That’s good farming practice, you can’t have all your male animals intact on a farm, I mean a cow won’t be able to feed her calf and to provide milk for people. That’s why they take them away. They rear them on artificially and that’s just farming practice, that's the method of farming we use today to provide food for people."
This was said in response to Declan Bowens saying that other animals are artificially inseminated and castrated on Irish farms.
Mr. Fagan added this: "They wean their animals. They have to be taken away for farming to function. It’s an impossible debate – of course it’s terrible, when you put it into that context, to take a baby away from its [sic] mother but – that’s the reality of it. Of course, in that context, it’s cruel but you cannot just say that the animal is psychologically distressed after it."
This was said in response to Declan Bowens stating that cows may call out for their calves for weeks after they are taken away from them, and calves also call for their mothers, which Fagan denied.
These comments can be heard in this edited clip immediately below, and the whole piece can be heard at the bottom of this blog entry.
Mr. Fagan, to his credit, was rather more truthful about the rights violations committed on Irish farms than were the farming representatives and a chef when they appeared on TV in opposition to Sandra Higgins of Go Vegan World the previous Monday evening. From claiming that the impact of "livestock" on the environment amounted to 5%, to suggesting that Irish animal agriculture is environmentally friendly, deceit and misinformation was the order of the day. One farmer even claimed that she was able to "convert" vegans back to flesh consumption because her food is so irresistible!
One imagines that the farming spin doctors are not too impressed with farmer Fagan.
You can view this programme immediately below.
One imagines that the farming spin doctors are not too impressed with farmer Fagan.
You can view this programme immediately below.
This is the full clip from Countrywide.
RSS Feed
