Farmers, Livestock and snow

iamtheoneneo

iamtheoneneo

iamtheoneneo

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Am I just being stupid here , but last night on the news there was a farmer pretty upset that his lambs were dieing because they were being literally covered in snow, and he is having to dig all his livestock out.

So I have two points here:
1. On a moral level : Why cant farmers just stick them in the barn until this weather settles??!?

2. On a legal level: Under the EU Council Directive 98/58/EC section 12:
Animals not kept in buildings
12. Animals not kept in buildings shall where necessary and possible be given protection from adverse weather conditions, predators and risks to their health.

With that all said, surely these farmers should be facing legal action for lack of care of their livestock? instead we have the news AND the farmers making out there hard done by etc, doesn't exactly seem right to me.
 
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I always feel sorry for livestock when I drive along and see them sat in the field in the early horrible icey, snowey mornings being stuck there in the day, overnight :(
 
Where to begin...

Farms are not like farmville or other farm sim games. They are not block lots they can and are split up over many many miles, ignoring that fact though here are a few points.

You have to house all the those animals
You have to feed all those housed animals
You have to litter all those housed animals
You have to water all those housed animals

That is massive financial cost.

Shed's have to be built
Feed has to be purchased
Litter has to be purchased
A well or mains connection is needed
Electricity
Also housed animals require more man time to look after.

These issues have issues and points within themselves as well which adds more problems to overcome.
 
So basically the EU stuff has been so well worded that it basically becomes pointless law.

I can understand to an extent that farmers are getting shafted hard in modern times, but at what point does losing X livestock not justify sticking up some sort of make shift wooden hut?

yeh there taking a hit on material costs, but there be saving livestock in the process that would have typically died.

If some farms can do this, why cant others ... is it poor management on the farmers behalf, that cant get the ties etc needed to have that successful income? because I see farms around my area that do have pens, holdings for animals and they always seem well looked after.

part of me thinks there's an element of skimping going on backed up by a series of excuses from said farmers.
 
often there is increased costs associated with a animal house. you can't just build a structure without the council coming around demanding money for looking at it, telling you where to build how to build and so on. a good example is the guy in the states that built a giant table and chairs for his horses to avoid government costs.
 
iamtheoneneo said:
So basically the EU stuff has been so well worded that it basically becomes pointless law.

I can understand to an extent that farmers are getting shafted hard in modern times, but at what point does losing X livestock not justify sticking up some sort of make shift wooden hut?

yeh there taking a hit on material costs, but there be saving livestock in the process that would have typically died.

If some farms can do this, why cant others ... is it poor management on the farmers behalf, that cant get the ties etc needed to have that successful income? because I see farms around my area that do have pens, holdings for animals and they always seem well looked after.

part of me thinks there's an element of skimping going on backed up by a series of excuses from said farmers.
Click to expand...

wow... very ignorant to come to a conclusion like that.

Did you not read any of my post.

See there's this thing called planning laws....

A wooden shack is not going to house 50-100 ewes possibly with lambs.

To repeat myself

You have to feed/water/litter those animals

The geography of the land also plays a major part in how the weather affects different farms. Great if your a farmer in lovely flat oxfordshire plenty of ideal locations to put up sheds and have access to mains water/electricity. Move more rural and it becomes a different story.
 
Leaving live stock out in their natural environment is cruel?

But having someone kill it on your behalf, butcher it and shove it in little plastic boxes so you can shove bits of it in the oven and eat it with mint sauce isn't?

The hypocrisy :confused:
 
wilber said:
wow... very ignorant to come to a conclusion like that.

Did you not read any of my post.

See there's this thing called planning laws....

A wooden shack is not going to house 50-100 ewes possibly with lambs.

To repeat myself

You have to feed/water/litter those animals

The geography of the land also plays a major part in how the weather affects different farms. Great if your a farmer in lovely flat oxfordshire plenty of ideal locations to put up sheds and have access to mains water/electricity. Move more rural and it becomes a different story.
Click to expand...

To follow on from this too. Most sheep farms tend to be on higher ground which is little use for anything else. Most low lying farm land will be for crops etc.

I decent sized shed for stock will cost £100.000 easy. that will probable only hold a few hundred sheep if that. a lot of these farmers will have far larger numbers than that.
 
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