Vegetarian farmer gives away cows as he can’t stand killing them
It was a somewhat unusual occupation for a vegetarian in the first place.
But after a lifetime working on his family’s cattle farm, Jay Wilde has decided to give away his £40,000 herd – realising that he can no longer tolerate sending cows to slaughter.
the 59-year- old had a crisis of conscience six years after relaunching Bradley Nook Farm as an organic beef producer.
Despite a relative insisting he was ‘insane’ to give away the 63 animals, Mr Wilde has now rehomed them with an animal sanctuary on the other side of the country – keeping just 11 to provide natural fertiliser for his arable crops. Mr Wilde, who became a vegetarian 25 years ago, said: ‘I feel so much better farming this way. It’s a weight off my shoulders. It’s certainly not a normal thing to do as a farmer, but I’m happy about it. I miss the cows, however it’s nice to think of them living a nice life in a sanctuary.’
the farmer grew up herding cows and took over the family dairy farm in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, when his father died in 2011. He relaunched the business, which had been in his family since the 1950s, as an organic beef farm – but became uncomfortable with sending animals for slaughter.
Mr Wilde said he had always wanted to give up animal production because he ‘couldn’t believe it was right to eat them’ – adding that dairy farming was hard because calves and cows would become distressed on separation.
He explained: ‘Cows have good memories and a range of emotions. I’ve even seen them cry. It was very difficult to do your best to look after them and then send them to the slaughterhouse.’
the animals are now living at the Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Frettenham, Norfolk. He is starting again as an organic market farm, supplying garden produce without using animal-based products or fertilisers.
Mr Wilde claims his wife Katja, 52, supports the move, but admitted: ‘My brother-in-law thought what I was doing was completely crazy. It’s difficult to switch from one type of farming to another, and he couldn’t understand why I would sacrifice so much money.’