This added 13:55
As the early risers sit over their bowls of cereal with milk, this morning, BBC Scotland may have caused many to feel a sudden surge of disgust with this headline report:
‘Animal welfare groups are calling for calf exports from Scotland to be banned following a BBC investigation. Thousands were shipped last year from the port of Cairn Ryan, yet none was exported from England.’
Were none exported from England simply because English beef is still banned in most places due to BSE concerns? See more on this below.
We also heard that these were ‘boy’ calves. Why not ‘male’ calves? Makes a better story?
Then we heard that the ‘campaigning groups’ (unnamed) thought long journeys ‘unnecessary’. Just ‘unnecessary’, not ‘cruel’?
Finally, the report tells us that the NFU says ‘export is better’ and that the Scottish government says, ‘live export is an important option for the country’s economy.’
Now, seriously, I have concerns myself about cruelty in the dairy industry and I’m lactose-intolerant, but I’m entertained here by BBC Scotland leaping on a possible SNPbaad storty about cute wee ‘boy’ calves to make one of those comparisons with England they say is wrong, especially if it’s about NHS Scotland.
However, could BBC Scotland have missed the real reason for England’s non-exports?
Scottish beef can, as of July 2017, be sold anywhere globally after the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) recognises the BSE risk from beef raised in Scotland is at the safest level available – negligible risk. England and Welsh beef remain at controlled risk BSE status and will not be reviewed before 2020.
Rural Secretary Fergus Ewing was applauded by the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers for his help with the bid for approval, in 2017, said:
‘This is reward for years of hard work from the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers, producers, our red meat businesses, vets, and this government all of whom have worked tirelessly to build a failsafe system which protects our animal and public health. Scotland’s meat exports are currently thriving and this certification stands us in good stead for our exporters to increase Scottish Beef exports even further.’
The president of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW) described the work of Fergus Ewing and his staff as ‘invaluable’.
https://news.gov.scot/news/bse-risk-status
Talking-up Scotland 
Can’t understand the beeb Scotland reluctance to employ the term ‘bull-calves’. After all they produce plenty of ‘bull’ on a daily basis.
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Yes, what’s their beef?
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Thanks for that John , you have clarified the matter for me . All morning I have listened to this and wondered why Scotland was doing this and England was not .Not being told the reason why not , puzzled me . If Gary Robertson had told me the reason WHY there is no English exports of beef then I would have had a more accurate understanding of the situation . BBC Scotland are never going to give a fair and balanced view of the SNP Government , and of course they have been plugging this program all morning to get viewing figures . I won’t be watching , I listen and watch only very few selective BBC programs , programs that include Scotland are always stacked to condemn the SNP Government .
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I was unaware of Cairnryan port so I looked it up and found it’s a small village in Dumfries and Galloway. I thought of the “Thousands were shipped last year from the port of Cairn Ryan” and found that they can only be going to Larne. A journey time on the ferry of either 2 hours or 2 hours 20 minutes depending which ferry operator you use.
I had thought that maybe the reason this was news and such hardship being described was because the cattle were being shipped to Australia!
That England can’t export cattle due to the BSE restrictions is the icing on the cake for this news scoop.
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Apologies for that username,don’t know what happened there.
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There is a valid criticism of the BBC and GMS to be made here in terms of bias.
The emphasis is on the fact that these calves are being exported from Scotland and NOT England. On the website, we are told, further, that the ferry companies in England have banned such exports. It seems this is again seeking to impugn some measure of culpability to Scotland. The ferry company involved in P&O which runs many ferry services in the UK. So, is the BBC suggesting that there is an inference to be drawn that ‘lax’ legislation in Scotland is permitting P&O to bypass bans elsewhere. The calves are going to Northern Ireland and on to Eire and thence to Europe. All of these countries are, under OIE rules are permitted to export live animals. Also the animals are going to CATALONIA!!!! nudge, nudge, wink, wink. The website uses the word Spain more often than Catalonia and also mentions Italy as a destination.
The actual programme will not be broadcast until this evening, so GMS has chosen aspects of the programme and put them in a particular context.
There is a separate argument to be made about the export of live animals anywhere. There is an argument to be made about the age at which animals are separated from their mothers. There is an argument to be made about how slaughtering is carried out – the broadcast spoke of an abattoir with ‘blood dripping down the walls’.
Much of the evidence for the programme comes from an animal welfare charity, which has a particular perspective, which it is, of course entitled to have and to express. I suspect that the use of the term ‘boy’ calves has come from them. The website talks of the cows ‘bawling’ for days after the calves have been taken.
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The BBC website has allowed a ‘Have Your Say’ on this issue and it is clear that there has been a concerted write in by animal rights activists.
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To cŕitise the SNP I suppose ! .
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The Republic of Ireland have exported 189,771 live cattle this year to date, with 148,418 of them being calves.
80% of the exported cattle go to continental Europe, roughly 10% to the UK and 10% to ROW.
These figures certainly provide some perspective with the 5000 or so exports from Scotland via NI to Europe. In fact it is not stated how many may have remained in NI or the Republic for breeding purposes.
BBC Investigation once again failing to provide the full picture.
https://www.bordbia.ie/industry/farmers/pricetracking/cattle/pages/livecattleexports.aspx
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people need to do their research and learn where these calves are really heading to. are you so sure spain is their final destination? could they be on another journey to continents beyond…?
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