Crafers’ Starving Calves

Bernard Hickey has an exclusive at interest.co.nz on the Crafers.

A video of starving calves is above.

I recommend people go read the story, which is pretty shocking. Extracts:

New Zealand’s biggest privately held dairying operation allowed dozens of calves on one of its massive farms on North Island’s central plateau to slowly dehydrate to death earlier this month, triggering a MAF investigation but no prosecution. …

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 the calves to drink milk, allowing them to die of dehydration in a muddy pen even though their trough was often full.

The Crafers have been prosecuted numerous times on various issues such as releasing effluent into waterways.

After interest.co.nz obtained the video, producer Bryan Spondre and I visited the farm where the calves had been kept to find out more. When we drove up next to the calf shed we were confronted by farm manager Sam Webb. He told us to: “Get the f**k off this property. You have no right to be here.”

Bryan started taking photographs of the shed and Sam Webb manhandled him back into our car before swearing abuse and grabbing at Bryan’s camera.

“I’ll take both of you bastards out,” he yelled.

Webb then punched Bryan through the open window of the car door. The punch was so hard it dislodged Bryan’s contact lens. We drove off and the picture published to the left shows Webb yelling at us as we left: “F**k off you c**ts.”

Where’s the picture of the black eye? 🙂

Go read the full story, and the questions Bernard has for MAF and Fonterra.

An excellent piece of investigative journalism.