June 1, 2012

Fat pregnant cows get prenatal work out

Filed under: Animals,Science by Orangemaster @ 4:25 pm

Livestock researcher Roselinde Goselink of Wageningen UR explains in this Dutch video from 2011 why it’s good for fat pregnant cows to get a proper workout before cranking out calves.

Pregnant cows need to boost their metabolism so that they can get used to giving lots of milk, and exercise apparently helps. Two years ago at the testing farm Waiboerhoeve near Lelystad they got some 30 odd cows to go round and round for 5 kilometers a day every day until September in a mill, which looks like a pony ride attraction for children.

Imagine generating electricity with cows getting a workout.

Oh and look how happy they are when they finally get to go outside in the spring:

(Link: melkveehouders.nieuwsgrazer.nl, via www.waarmaarraar.nl)

Tags: ,

April 6, 2012

Farmer threatens dog owners with ‘coldness’

Filed under: Animals,Weird by Orangemaster @ 3:01 pm

An angry cattle farmer in Hengelo put up a sign on his property that reads: ‘No dogs in the meadow, or I will ice your dog.’ (‘Geen honden in de wei, anders maar ik uw hondje koud.’) In Dutch, the last part literally translates as ‘I will make your dog cold’, which usually means to kill or ice, but not everyone agrees that’s what the farmer means. He put the sign up because he doesn’t want dog poo making his cows sick, and chances are, he’s pretty fed up at this point.

You could make a dog cold by spraying it with water, the police told the neighbours who let their dogs out in the meadow and removed the sign, assuming their dogs would get shot. The cops told the neighbours they were the ones committing an illegal act by removing a sign on private property.

In true Dutch ‘let’s talk it out’ fashion, the cops will get the sign back from the neighbours or fine them, and they’ll probably have coffee and biscuits, the farmer will give them a speech about how he doesn’t want dogs on his property full stop and the neighbours will promise not to do so. Then, the dog owners will ignore him, saying they pay enough dog tax to do what they want, and the cops will be by again, and so on.

Someone should spray them all with water.

(Link: Parool, photo by E. Dronkert, some rights reserved)

Tags: , , , ,

March 15, 2011

‘Organic farming can be deceiving’

Filed under: Animals,Food & Drink,Sustainability by Orangemaster @ 4:11 pm

When it comes to environmentally friendly products, we tend to collectively think that they’re automatically better than conventional products without even checking. The media and marketing play on these warm and fuzzy feelings all the time, which tends to be echoed by people whose need to believe always seems to outweigh checking the facts. Yes, these are nasty generalizations and yes, I too want to believe, but I don’t — yet.

After an aquaintance had posted an ‘I’m better than you because I eat less meat’ blurb on a mailing list, I promptly responded with our posting on producing meat is actually less damaging to the environment than producing cotton T-shirts. I’ll bet you she still buys cotton T-shirts.

However, I do agree that the video linked below seems to gloss over the issue of pesticides and other interesting comments the farmers were trying to make, but the deception is real: organic products have their own issues and according to everything I have read from several countries as an ordinary consumer, they are very often the same or only slightly better than conventional products.

And yes, killing animals is still killing animals, I got that part.

Watch the short video report: ‘Organic meat not better for the environment’.

(Link: Radio Netherlands)

Tags: , , ,

August 23, 2010

Naked woman and curious cow: election poster of the century

Filed under: Design by Branko Collin @ 8:26 am

In 2006 this poster was elected best political poster of the Netherlands of the past 90 years. It was used in 1971 by the Pacifist Socialist Party (PSP), one of the predecessors of GroenLinks, for the lower house elections. The caption reads ‘Disarming PSP’.

The photo was originally taken for sexual reform magazine Sekstant, but designer George Noordanus surmised that it could also help create a storm of protest among Christians whose political parties supported the Vietnam war, but opposed innocent nudity, thereby exposing their hypocrisy.

Although it did just that, the raised profile did not help the PSP as it lost half its seats in the lower house after the elections. Support for the poster was also divided within the party, as some members considered it sexist. Ironically enough, it was the sexist argument that in the end helped seal the deal. As one member put it, “workers like naked chicks.”

Both Ayaan Hirsi Magan (ex VVD, liberal) and Femke Halsema (GroenLinks, ‘green left’), political opposites, see the poster as a symbol of their ideals.

See also this site about election posters in the Netherlands.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

July 3, 2008

Sixties slaughterhouse film saved from oblivion

Filed under: Animals,Film,Food & Drink,History by Orangemaster @ 8:01 am
Meat

Dutch television station VPRO has found an old film from the 1960s in their archives depicting the live slaughtering of cows in an Amsterdam abbatoir. The film ‘Vleesch’ (old Dutch spelling of ‘vlees’, which means ‘meat’) is a five-minute film made by vegetarian filmmmaker Wim T. Schippers, who is known for many things including the voices of Ernie, Kermit and more on the Dutch version of Sesame Street.

Long story short, the film was originally banned because it was not suitable for children. It was postponed a few times and again deemed unsuitable for children. Eventually, some child psychiatrists viewed the movie and said it was fine to let kids watch it. However, the film was never shown. Until now.

‘Vleesch’, made on 9 October 1967, is now being shown for the very first time. The VPRO has also brought out a DVD with this and other lost bits of archives from the same era, albeit surely less straightforward.

Before anyone starts a discussion about how horrible this is you’ve been warned: a cow is being killed in this film so that people will eat it. I glanced at the film myself.

See the film for yourself: Vleesch

(Link: vleesmagazine.nl)

Tags: , , ,

May 28, 2008

Booties for cows with sore feet

Filed under: Animals,Science by Orangemaster @ 12:29 pm
morecows1.JPG

A veterinarian in Winterswijk, Gelderland has developed slippers for cows with inflamed feet. Ron Jansen made the slippers using foam rubber and velcro. The cows need to wear them for five days, during which the footwear will ease the pain and allow the inflammation to heal quicker by shielding it from manure.

We could not find a picture, but we did find a nice cow photo shoot.

(Link: www.agd.nl)

Tags: , , ,

January 21, 2008

Escaped Highlander shot dead for causing danger

Filed under: Animals by Branko Collin @ 4:08 pm
highland_cow.jpg
Photo: Highland cow in Hilversum, by Gerard M., distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License, version 1.2.

Last Saturday, a Highland cow was shot (Dutch) near Den Velde in the province of Overijssel for causing dangerous situations on the road. The cow had escaped three weeks before from near Reeze and had reportedly caused a lot of trouble in the neighbourhood already. Highland cows are often used in the Netherlands for grazing nature reserves. They are hardy beasts that require little supervision, and eat more than just grass. The Highlander was caught when it tried to make a run for Germany.

This is not the first time that the police treat nature like a problem. Last Wednesday, our modern day knights who say “ni” shot a cow (Dutch) that had escape with its calf. The orphaned calf is still on the run. And in the summer of 2007, a fox “had to be” shot for accepting food from photographers.

Tags: , , ,