HEALTH and welfare of livestock during live transportation is of the highest priority to the Scottish agricultural industry – this was the clear message in the wake of what has been described as a 'sensationalist' and 'misleading' portrayal of the calf export trade in a documentary broadcast by the BBC this week.

Distressing scenes were shown in the 'Dark Side of Dairy' programme, suggesting they were representative of the treatment Scottish dairy calves received travelling to Northern Ireland, Ireland and continental Europe – but it has since been suggested that this footage was actually of Hungarian cattle being shipped onto boats in Romania, prompting an official complaint from NFU Scotland to the BBC.

NFUS president Andrew McCornick said: "The scenes in the Egyptian slaughterhouse were wholly unacceptable but again, there is no evidence to indicate that these are Scottish cows. Even the clips of the dairy calves in the market were not Scottish calves.

“The number of UK dairy bull calves exported every year makes up a very small proportion of dairy bull calves and the Scottish dairy industry is actively working to reduce the number and find alternative home markets," he stressed.

“Live exporting calves is not the preference of most dairy farmers in Scotland but unfortunately there is a limited market in the UK for dairy bull calves and exporting is the only viable option for some dairy farmers.

“All trade to these markets is done through reputable exporters who manage the journey to a high standard, ensuring that the calves arrive at their destination in good condition, and the production system at the destination meets the same EU requirements as the UK."

Despite these facts, the publicity around the documentary has since prompted P and O Ferries to review its policy on live transport, and halt the transportation of calves on its sailings.

Haulier Andrew Ewing, who is heavily involved in the exportation of live cattle, running an assembly centre at Drumbretton, near Annan, said that he couldn't believe how misleading the TV programme had been: "The BBC documentary was a complete misrepresentation of what goes on as far as live calf exports are concerned, and that really needs to be highlighted.

"Calves come to us from northern England and south-west Scotland, and they spend on average 10 hours in our control point, where the vet comes and fully inspects them, and does the paperwork before issuing the license for them to go to Cairnryan, then Larne, where they spend 24 hours in another official holding centre, before heading to Spain.

"We’re actually halfway through a ScotGov project, in conjunction with Edinburgh University, that follows our calves at every point in their journey, so to say that everything is done officially and to the highest standards would be an understatement."

Mr Ewing said that P and O's decision was a blow to the sector, and suggested that it had been made with undue haste: "In three years of doing this, we’ve never had an issue, and literally the day after this documentary, their rules have changed. They were also shown in a bad, unrepresentative, light. The whole thing played on shock factor, not fact."

Commenting on P and O Ferries' decision to change their rules, Mr McCornick said: "NFUS has the utmost faith in the Scottish Government and their chief veterinary officer to ensure that Scottish dairy bull calves being exported are done so to the highest of welfare standards and regulations.

“It is disappointing to learn that P and O Ferries had reviewed its policies following this sensationalised and inaccurate documentary and we will look to work closely with it to see where members of ours who this will effect can go from here.

“Following on from the documentary, NFUS is writing an official complaint to the BBC in regards to the standards of the reporting involved in the documentary and journalism showcased in the programme which, disappointingly, has already had an immediate effect on the agricultural industry," he added.

NFUS livestock committee chairman, Charlie Adam, who featured on the BBC programme explained: “I am extremely disappointed at the final outcome of the documentary. We were very much given the impression that a balanced view would be put forward, but that clearly hasn’t been the case. What I said was edited in such a way that it was taken completely out of context.”

Mr Adam continued: “I took what I thought was an opportunity to give the general public facts on the issue, so that they could make up their own minds using precise knowledge, but they have been completely misled by inaccurate facts and misleading footage from a journalist on a mission to create a sensationalist story.”