Viva! 8 York Court Wilder Street Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 944 1000 Fax: 0117 924 4646 email: media@viva.org.uk	10 September 1999 Livestock Farmers Don't Deserve Extra Cash, Says Viva! Viva! today reacted angrily to calls from farming bodies for a UK-wide cull ewe scheme - at an estimated cost of £6 million to the taxpayer. The animal charity is campaigning for an end to the huge government subsidies which prop up the modern livestock business. 1998 figures reveal that livestock farmers received a massive £1.1 billion in direct subsidies - forming the vast majority of cattle and sheep farm income. “Farmers cannot continue to overbreed animals and then expect government payments to bail them out,” says Viva! Campaigner Becky Smith. “They are already receiving enormous subsidies to maintain an industry which is destroying the British countryside and causing huge animal suffering. And all to produce a product which is known to contribute to human killer diseases like cancer and heart disease. “At the same time, public demand for organic food is so high that supermarkets are having to import vast quantities from the continent. Where’s the logic in all this?” Viva! is also protesting against the farm animal ‘dumps’ which have been taking place in recent weeks. Sheep and calves have been found outside animal sanctuaries and even in phone boxes. “Farmers say they cannot bring themselves to shoot their own animals and yet they are happy to simply abandon them without giving a second thought to their welfare,” says Ms. Smith. “What do people think normally happens to these animals? They are forced to endure a brutal abattoir killing years before the end of their natural lifespan. “The sooner the government starts offering genuine support for organic horticulture rather than propping up the cruel livestock industry, the sooner there will be a real future for the UK farming industry.” More information: Becky Smith, Juliet Gellatley or Tony Wardle on 0117 944 1000   Read the Viva! Notes on this issue