Farm vet fears busy Bonfire Night calming cattle

2 hours ago

Linsey SmithEast Yorkshire and Lincolnshire rural affairs correspondent

Molly McKay will spend Bonfire Night travelling the county of Lincolnshire treating spooked animals from the back of her truck

BBC/Linsey Smith A woman smiles as she looks at the camera wearing a navy blue top. She is sitting on the edge of her car boot. She has her hand on an open drawer that is filled with veterinary medication. The car is parked in front of a green field. — Molly McKay will spend Bonfire Night travelling the county of Lincolnshire treating spooked animals from the back of her truck

A vet who is set to spend Bonfire Night treating cattle and sheep spooked by fireworks says there is "no doubt" they suffer as much as family pets.

Molly McKay, who is based near Louth, Lincolnshire, said due to food regulations vets could not administer preventative sedatives to farm animals, as is done for cats and dogs.

The veterinary surgeon said in previous years she had treated cattle with broken legs that had jumped fences, performed caesarean sections on heifers in premature labour and rounded up an escaped herd that caused a traffic incident.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) urged people planning displays to warn farmers in the area so they could "take appropriate steps".

The effects of fireworks on livestock could be "very dangerous for the animals, but also for the public", McKay said.

"A number of cows that break through a fence and run down a main road are a very dangerous thing."

Adam Duguid, a dairy farmer, said his herd would produce significantly less milk in the days following Bonfire Night as a result of being "agitated and upset".

He has 450 dairy cows based at Caenby Corner, Lincolnshire, 40 of which are due to give birth.

Adam Duguid with a cow who has recently given birth. He says pregnant animals are particularly vulnerable when spooked by fireworks

BBC/Linsey Smith Farmer Adam Duguid kneels to the right of the photo wearing a navy jumper over a light blue t-shirt. Behind him in the barn is a calf with it's mother. — Adam Duguid with a cow who has recently given birth. He says pregnant animals are particularly vulnerable when spooked by fireworks

Duguid said that if McKay was to administer the only licensed emergency sedative to a cow on his farm, the animal's milk would have to be disposed of to safeguard the human food chain.

McKay added: "Obviously, if an animal is in distress, then we are going to sedate it, but a lot of the animals here are close to calving and there is some risk.

"We would really rather not be in a position where we're having to sedate animals just to get them through a night of fireworks or loud bangs."

She echoed the NFU's call for people to talk to farmers before arranging to let off fireworks.

"In this scenario, it is something that we can prevent, just by a little bit of thought in advance."

It is an offence to cause an animal unnecessary suffering, but the RSPCA said livestock continued to be frightened by fireworks being let off near the places where they were kept every year.

Kate Parkes, of the animal charity, said farmers and livestock keepers could protect their animals by, "playing soothing background music in barns, checking on livestock regularly [and] arranging for familiar stock people to stay with them."

The RSPCA said it hoped there would be future reforms to fireworks regulations to protect all animals.

The government is considering tighter restrictions, which could see the maximum noise of fireworks sold to the public cut from 120 to 110 decibels. A public consultation closed on 7 October.

However, some licensed retailers have pushed back against the idea. Mike Carter, of Discount Fireworks in Hull, said he believed tighter restrictions would rule out about 90% of the fireworks he sold and risked creating a black market.

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