Derbyshire - For committed
vegetarian Jay Wilde, taking over his father's central England
beef farm in 2011 gave rise to a significant ethical dilemma:
how could he continue running his family business, while
adhering to his principles?
This year, Wilde took an unusual decision to resolve that
conflict: he donated his Derbyshire farm's herd of 63 cattle,
which would have fetched £45,000 pounds ($58,250) if sold for
meat, to an animal sanctuary.
"It just seemed difficult to look after the animals for two
to three years and get to really know them, and then send them
to slaughter. It felt as if you were betraying them", Wilde told
the BBC.
Wilde believes that his cows have emotions and can sense
when they're going to be killed. After donating the herd, Wilde
said that he plans to refocus his farm on growing organic
vegetables and field crops without any animal inputs.
The herd now resides at the Hillside Animal Sanctuary near
Frettenham, where they will live out the remainder of their
lives, effectively as pets.
While Wilde accepted that his new farm may be less
profitable, his principal desire was for his animals to be
happy.
"I hope that when they arrive at the refuge the cows will
run down the ramp of the lorry into the field and think 'wow!
We've come on holiday'", he said.