Is all lamb in britain free range or do we have factory farmed lamb?!
Is all lamb in britain free range or do we have factory farmed lamb?
Answers:
I'm a farmer, so lets not have a any scarmongering here.
Welsh and English lamb is generally given access to open pasture much of its short life.
Thats the answer to your question. However it doesn't give the full story about how its treated, the birthing, weaning processes, husbandry,nor does it cover the transport, artificial food nor slaughter processes.
Just because its got acess to open pasture, does not mean all is well with the UK sheep industry.
Lamb from NZ and Aus is generally treated a lot worse. In the quest to reduce the price ( as driven by meat-eaters ) they new breed further into the hotter climates where the land and labour is cheap. Ths sheep cannot survive and so are subject to skin clipping ( barbaric by anyones standards ) and permanent barn pens..
all free range
a lot of it is welsh
farm reared but most of it is in ported and is not from wales
Actually I have heard of covert battery lamb farms in the deepest Cotswold hills! It would appear that the owners are hiding out and on the Lamb !
Jokes aside, Unless someone has invented an indoor field, both the Lamb and its mother are free to roam until slaughter. It would not be productive or cost effective to feed the animal artificially, as natural organic grass does the job nicely and on the cheap. It costs next to nothing per head, per year to keep Sheep as long as you have enough grass. Over winter, you need to suppliment with 'Sheep Nuts' only if it snows. My Parents have 75 Sheep on their land at the moment (and 1 not so little Lamb).
Free range - however consideration of the time taken from field to plate can be unbelieveable.
Maybe get you lamb from a local butcher as he will probably be able to confirm that it is locally produced. Or if your have a local farmer's market where some farmers complete the whole process on farm or locally.
If you don't ask then you don't know
i like seeing lovly little lambs skipping around in a field ALIVE thanks x
i hoped that all lamb is free range. frolicing in fields under the watchfull eye of mum. i saw lots of sheep in welsh fields and they looked very content.but i have seen a website that shows a different story. i dont know where this website is but it showed lambs standing on mesh in barns. never seeing outside and never standing on or eating grass. it was very upsetting to see. i have given up meat since seeing these factory farm sites. i hope others do too