Letter: Animals don't need drugs

THE STATEMENT in your leader regarding cows being fed antibiotics in the food is simply not true. I am a dairy/beef farmer. We do not feed, nor have ever fed, antibiotics to any cattle on our farm. Cattle are ruminants and antibiotics in the feed would prevent them from digesting their food properly and would not promote growth. Most cows are over 30 months old and as such do not enter the food chain. Their carcasses are burnt.

We have 100 cows and every year each of them has a calf. I rear these calves. I take great care to provide them with a disease-free and stress- free environment and use antibiotics only if they are ill. I document each time I use antibiotics, stating which animal and the doses. When the animal reaches six months of age it is most unusual for it to need any antibiotics at all.

Beef cattle spend two summers out at grass and two winters in a large shed. They are fed home-grown silage (preserved grass) and home-grown barley. At about two years old, they are slaughtered and go for human consumption. Young cows spend two years growing to be old enough to have a calf. Summers are spent out in the field eating grass, winters they are in a big shed. They are fed silage. They have their first calf at three years old. We then milk them and sell the milk. By now these cows are too old to go into the food chain.

SUSAN WAINWRIGHT

Marton, Shropshire