Farmers and vegetarians have criticised the BBC's decision to show the slaughter of piglets, lambs and veal calves on TV

Reader views (21)

 Add your view

I am going in three weeks to a farm an hour away form my city where all the cattle, pigs and chickens are raised on pasture with organic grain supplements for dry times, and to round out diets of the chickens. All the animals are treated very, very well and look very happy. Then, they do meet their fate. Quickly, and efficiently. In three weeks I will be killing two suckling pigs for a special dinner at my house. I always buy my meat and eggs from this farm now. It is so very nutritionally superior and tastes like heaven! As to this program, I worry that it does sensationalise the topic. Watching it might provide some insight, but it should be tempered with rational insight and yes, the topic of industrial slaughterhouses, which, I must admit, are very unhealthy places emotionally for both the animals and the people working in them, I feel. Animals should nto be treated like grains or inanimate objects. They should be treated with respect and care until the moment they meet their fate, which on a farm, means meat production.

- Ken, San Antonio USA

I have a serious question. I generally love most animals. I couldn't even kill a cow, even if it's for the meat. However, I WANT a LEGAL and LAWFUL chance to kill a number of animals: A squirrel, a duck, a chicken, a CALF, a rabbit, and one PIGLET. I would NEVER go out and shoot some random animal. I can't even shoot a horse. Do you think that I could call a local farm, and ask them if I could volunteer to chop the head off of one chicken or duck?

- Aspiring Hunter, Washington State, USA

No baby animal should be killed/slaughtered/tortured of any kind.
It is bad enough so many grown animals have to die in order that humans can waste in restaurants, fast foods, etc. It has all gone too far and has to stop.

What next? Lets eat your babies?

- Miss Dee, USA

The programe shows these animals being slaughtered in a quiet area in the studio it doesn't show an accurate account of the conditions and treatment of these animals on a day to day basis and is very misleading to the general public. The BBC should be more responsible and show the correct treatment of these animals and help to stop cruelty.

- Carolyne, UK

Animals live in cages for months and months and months. Some can’t turn around in their cages like veal calves chickens and some pigs. They live in their own faeces in the dark. They go mad. When they peck each other bite or bite each other’s tails out of madness they have their tails and teeth cut of without anaesthetic. They can’t play. They develop painful bone diseases, go lame and develop respiratory diseases from the lack of space and the filthy conditions. Veal calves and lambs are taken off their mothers from day one. They call to their mothers. Veal calves are nearly completely starved. Cattle travel in terribly uncomfortable transport for hours. Animals are often abused further by workers as there is no monitoring or laws to stop workers abusing the animals more. Example cattle being dragged along kicked with steel cap boots. Dairy cows spend hours hooked up to the milking equipment. They don’t get much of a break. They get electric shocks from the equipment and sometimes die. They have torn udders and painful infections. In Australia cows ovaries are removed without anaesthetic Animals in the wild can stay with their mothers longer often, roam around freely, play, see and feel sunlight, express natural behaviours and hopefully live in a pain free way.

- Kim, Australia

I was meant to be appearing on this TV program but I think Foot and Mouth and now Bluetongue has pushed the production date back.

The plain fact is that 250,000 lambs are going to be slaughtered and made in to biodiesel or just simply incinerated this autumn.

Better to eat them rather than just burn them.

- Henry North, London, UK

I have hunted, killed, and cleaned many times. My Mom insisted on these steps before she would cook the KILL for us. She insisted that she did not need diamonds to survive. She survived economically depressed times and knew what it meant to have a MEAL on the table. She raised her six children to be survivors, not dependents. We knew where our food originated. Yes, we grew vegetables, too.

- Daniel, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, USA

Do people think lamb and veal fall out of the sky and magically appear in the supermarket? People should know how these animals die, and why. Maybe they would think twice about their choices.

- David Davenport, Seattle, WA, USA

It is food! Whether or not it is weeks or years old makes no difference. It was breed to be eaten.
I have killed and dressed my own food in the past and will again in the future.
If you want to be a vegetarian, great, good luck to you. Please do not try to push your choice off on me.

I have no problem with the process or the showing of it on TV, although I must say your BBC comes up with some unusual programming. I would think there are more interesting subjects.

The only instance where I would have any problem is where someone is being intentionally cruel to the animal, which I define as making the death unnecessarily painful or prolonged.


- Bob, Birmingham, USA

This is the problem with taxpayer-funded TV. Sure, you can change channels, but you're still paying for it. Leave this to Discovery or some other for-profit network.

- Doug, Richmond, VA, USA

I think this is mainly sensationism. If the average person wanted to see how their food was killed, they could simply visit a farm. I have several friends who raise and slaughter their own food. They treat their animals very well. The kids grow up knowing what the animals are for and help raise and slaughter them when old enough. I would love to move out of the city and be able to do this myself. It's the only way to be certain what you really are eating. For now, we trust mostly local farmers to do it for us.

Gm, you certainly can be both sad that the animal had to lose it's life and greatful for the food it provides, it's not an inconsistancy. I would that most vegetairians would finally realize and admit that if they buy most average fruits and vegetables, that they aide in the killing of thousands of little field mammals. I'm not certain that being run over by a threasher in the prime of your life is much less "cruel" than being slaughtered in a slaughter house.

We all should be honest about our food, but there are something that simply don't need to be shown on TV.

- Elizabeth Giromini, Dallas, TX, USA

If slaughter houses were made of glass, most people would become vegetarians.

- Cindy Owens, Phoenix United States of America

They can show it. If people don't want to see it, they can turn off the TV.

- Bob M., MD USA

We are omnivores and we have been since we walked on two feet!

- Stuart, UK

I wonder what vegeterians think would happen to the millions of livestock in this country if we all turned veggie. Do they imagine that they would be frolicking around living a nice old life with no predators or nasty farmers? Or is it rather more likely that the whole lot would be slaughtered to make room for soya beans and wheat? Just a thought.

- Mark, London

Frankly, I think it is AWESOME that the BBC is doing this. No, I have no desire to watch this - but I think that anyone who eats this type of meat should be made to watch it. You can argue that it doesn't go far enough if you want, but it's a start.

Too many people don't want to know, because deep down they DO know that the lives and deaths of these animals are brutal and often very cruel. If they faced that, they wouldn't be able to eat the meat, so they don't face it.

Well, it's about personal responsibility. Don't say it's okay to eat the meat if you don't know the background of the meat. If you can't face it, don't eat it. It's that simple.

- Valerie, Charleston, USA

Why would anyone want to watch anything being killed? Sick, sick, sick.
Become a vegetarian. Much healthier and you'll live longer!

- Lulu Skates, United States of America

The reason farmers dont want this programme shown is because it may put people off buying lamb and veal. It put me off eating meat a few years back. Slaughtering lambs to satisfy someone's hunger is disgusting, there is no need to kill newborn animals. Show the programme but show the real truth of what goes on.

- Christine Nightingale, Watford Herts

I agree with Viva, I watched the last series and found the slaughter process to be so far removed from what actually occurs in real slaughter houses, making the program pointless.

If the BBC aims to ‘reconnect the public with meat's journey from farm to fork’ then show the real process, in real slaughter houses, not something that aims to soothe the conscience of those that consume meat.

- D Wilson, Mortlake, London

Personally I thought the first series was a very interesting programme. If people don't want to find out where their food comes from they're not being forced to watch this.

- Terry Roll, London

I am a vegetarian and have been for decades and I think this SHOULD be shown.

I am sick of people moaning and groaning about 'poor little lambs and calves' blah blah blah and then tucking into their Sunday roast - what hypocrites.

Every meat-eater who pretends to care about these animals should watch the show to see exactly what happens to get that little lamb, calf, chicken or pig onto their dinner plate rather than closing their minds to the reality of it all. Or, like the other meateaters, STOP moaning and just eat your meat and forget about your conscience!

Hiding this kind of thing is morally wrong - out of sight, out of mind eh!

I'm not saying that people should not eat meat BUT we all have a choice - what I am saying is that if you do eat meat, don't pretend to be sad about the animals are being slaughtered for your dinner plate - you can't have it both ways!

- Gm, London

Add your comment