farmdoc's blog post number 214

I’ve always been a meat eater. But until 5-6 years ago I’d never seen an animal killed for meat. I've forgotten the date, but I remember the circumstances. It was part of a (kilogram for kilogram, lamb for beef) deal with Jack – a Mole Creek farmer (who incidentally told us he hadn’t travelled the 75k to Launceston since 1953: ‘No need to'). Sharon, Sweetheart Vivienne and I brought three of our lambs in the crate on Sharon’s ute. Russell, a local farmer/butcher, in one smooth and practised motion, jumped each lamb down from the ute to the ground where he cut its throat. The transition from live animal to carcase took 15-20 seconds. I didn’t find that first time pleasant. But I knew these sheep had led healthy, content and low stress lives. And I thought their end was quick and painless, i.e. humane. (Isn’t humane a weird word to apply to the death of sheep.) Nowadays, 5-6 years later, Sharon and I kill our sheep and goats for meat. And I’ve become inured to the knife-work and its aftermath. I think it’s important for all meat eaters to see at least one animal killed – so as to put paid to any superstitious belief that meat was not once part of a live animal. So good on you, Necia Wilden, Jamie Oliver and Paula Goodyer.