COUNTRYFILE viewers have slammed Adam Henson’s ‘cruel and awful’ lambing report as animals are ripped away from their mothers.
The latest episode of Countryfile featured a number of topics including the struggles within the fishing industry and how dairy farmers are also feeling the strain.
But it was another segment about lambing that got viewers riled up.
Adam explained how a lot of sheep's milk doesn't come from the UK, but farmers Paul and Laura were hoping to change that statistic.
Adam sat down with Laura to chat about how she got into farming, while holding a little lamb.
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Adam said: "For a ewe to produce milk, of course, they have to lamb. So then the lambs can't have the milk, so what is the system?"
Laura replied: "They will stay with their mum for 24 to 48 hours so that they get what's called colostrum, which is full of all their essential antibodies and things that they need.
"And then after that, we will take them away from their mums and we rear them all under heat lamps."
Adam knew it was a process which could be controversial and suggested to Laura: "Some people might think that is mean?"
Laura replied: "We try and give the lambs the best possible life we can. We make sure they're kept clean, they're warm and well fed."
But as Adam seemed to predict, Countryfile viewers were outraged by the process.
One wrote on Twitter: "Taking the lambs away from their mothers so early doesn’t sit well with me."
Another added: "the poor lambs stay with their mums for only 24 hours then taken away. What a s****y life, just like calves for veal. No wonder all the kids are turning to being vegetarian."
A third tweeted: "Just can’t agree with the treatment of lambs on there just now. So very cruel for the mothers and wee lambs.."
Countryfile airs Sundays on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.
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