It's pathetic to see some of the organically-farmed animals I enounter. Small, underweight and often chronically parasitised. The hardline opposition to routine vaccination seems to be easing, but at one point organic was by definition antivax for the animals.
I was presented with two young ewes back in the spring, for post mortem. They were a year old, but the size of six-month-old lambs. They were hill sheep, and would have been running free on the hill irrespective of whether they were organic. However, the organic rules prevented the very necessary preventative worm treatments these sheep need.
Apparently there had been ten deaths before anyone even thought to bring one in for a look-see. If this isn't an animal welfare problem I don't know what is. Young ewes suffering and dying from an entirely preventable condition, indeed one that is routinely prevented in normal farming. The bodies were undersized for their age, as I said, and they were very very thin indeed. They had obviously been suffering from severe diarrhoea for quite some time.
Now I'm not saying all organic animals are like that. Some are as healthy as conventionally farmed livestock. But I get the distinct impression that for some farms, organic is a way of regaining profitability when they're simply not much good at the business. Instead of looking after the animals properly, including routine healthcare, these things are omitted in the name of "organic", and the resulting inflated prices compensate for the inefficiency.
I was really sorry for these poor sheep. And to think that people are paying a premium for meat from that farm in the belief that organic animals are well treated and heathier. Bah, humbug.
