As I mentioned in my last post, a television program about the inhumane treatment of Australian export animals in overseas abattoirs has provoked a great deal of public discussion in Australia about the transport of live cattle to other countries. I believe there is no point in being squeamish about the slaughter of livestock if one is a meat-eater. It has to get onto our plate – dead – one way or another. However, I also believe that some respect is due to the beast that has given it’s life and that a civilised society has a responsibility to ensure that life is taken as humanely as possible.
I worked in the domain of animal welfare for many years and know that animal activists frequently take the moral high ground whenever subjects like this arise in the media, but I also know they are not the only ones with a conscience or a stake in the field of animal welfare. Much of the current anguished discourse around the recent situation has come from the very people who send cattle off for live transport. The farmers who breed and raise these beasts are genuinely concerned for the well-being of their livestock and gain no benefit from the diminishing of meat quality which is the inevitable result of inflicting pain and stress on meat animals. Indeed, their knowledge of the negative impact of stress upon the quality of their meat has led one local producer – Savannah Lamb – to a complete overhaul of their farming practices.
Savannah Lamb is the fruit of a collaboration between husband and wife Phil and Michele Lally of the Clare Valley. Phil’s family have farmed their patch of South Australia’s Clare Valley for almost 100 years and Michele is a Le Cordon Bleu graduate who had noticed a difference in the taste and quality of the lamb she cooked which was killed on their property, as distinct from the same lamb that had been commercially processed. It had also been of some concern to them both that the lambs which they cared for so carefully for nine months, often hand rearing the weak or abandoned, were treated so perfunctorily at the stock sale yards. While accepting the inevitability of their fate, Michele felt a responsibility for the circumstances of their ultimate destiny and was uncomfortable with her lack of control over the final stages leading up to the slaughter.
With her conscience nipping at her heels, Michele was convinced that they could produce a superior lamb product by reducing the stress on their stock and altering their feeding program. It took some time to convince Phil’s traditional farming family that the proposed alternative methods were going to be worth it, but Michele is nothing, if not determined and their product, Savannah Lamb was born.
Savannah Lambs are treated differently right from the beginning of their life. The reproduction cycle of their ewes has been slightly tweaked so that they lamb a little earlier than other flocks, given the lambs a better chance of survival in the milder weather. In a large flock of lambing ewes it can be easy for a slightly slow or weak new lamb to become separated from it’s mother – and then it has no chance of survival. In the thick of the lambing season the Lally paddocks are checked three times a day for lost, injured or abandoned lambs which are then taken in for hand feeding. Last year Michele hand reared 80 lambs and has fed more than 30 so far this year. Those that are not hand reared are carefully monitored and each lamb is checked and weighed on a weekly basis.
Their sheep are raised in a natural environment free of preservatives, hormones or chemicals using stress-free handling procedures and, when they are old enough, they are taken in small groups to a local abattoir for slaughter. Here, once again, they are handled efficiently without the use of kicking, electric prods, dogs or raised voices and are dealt with promptly and humanely.
The success of their product has demonstrated to Michele and Phil that their step out of the industrialised food cycle is paying off. While this is a more labour-intensive method of raising lambs Michele is not afraid of hard work. She is justifiably proud of the humane and ethical philosophies which have resulted in a superior meat that is catching the attention of consumers and chefs alike. Their direct mail order sales are growing quickly and their premium product is soon to be on the menu in some of Adelaide’s finest restaurants. While they still have room for expansion they are determined to maintain their status as a sustainable and family run business in order to maintain the strict quality control which has been so vital to their success.
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This is a great story, thank you Amanda. My family has been greatly disturbed since seeing the Four Corners footage on live export. I personally do not eat meat and made that choice years ago, but my husband and children do and it is really important to me that livestock enjoy their time alive and are killed as humanely as possible. It is great to read about Savannah Lamb and I wanted to congratulate them on choosing their approach. Where can we buy their products?
Thanks for this post. I’ve been reading Jonathon Safran Foer’s “Eating Animals” and it’s made me think about where my meat comes from. Do you happen to know of any other local farmers who raise cows/pigs/chickens with a similarly humane approach?
Ahh, this is all so close to my heart. This is not a lamby household but any other meat these days that is brought in, I really want to know where it’s from and how it was raised. I don’t think someone can be squeamish either if they are willing to eat meat. It’s hard yes, confronting yes, but ignoring the fact that something was once a living beast before magically appearing on the dinner plate? No.
Another great post Amanda.
Even though I rarely eat meat I love this girl Michele and what she does for her lambs .
Good post. I must keep a look out for Savannah lamb although it sounds like for now I might have to find it in Adelaide 🙂
Brilliant Amanda, the more said & talked up & about the better on this subject, there are so many farmers & producers now with this same sentiment & producing the best meat. Recently out at the family farm they had home killed one of their sheep for eating & I went on out to help bag & pack the meat as it was cut up (now I’m not a particularly lambie person) but the fat on the carcass was so white & the meat so marbled, it just looked so good, & let me tell you roast lamb that evening was just the best – there is such a difference in the quality & taste of the meat when the animal has been raised & respected its entire life – much like we human’s I suspect 😉
Have a great week Amanda & love these thoughtful posts., keep it up kid 🙂
Thanks for another insightful post – I really should check out where my meat comes from a little more instead of just buying whatever is on sale at the supermarket.
Sally – You can get find the contact details for their mail order list here – http://www.clarevalleycuisine.com.au/producer_members.html?&tx_swagdirectory_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=25
Jordan – Free-range Berkshire pork is available at Feast Fine Foods here in Adelaide – http://feastfinefoods.com.au/ –
Brydie – You’re right, there is nothing magical about how it gets on our plate. Just cold, hard facts.
Kate – Michele is very passionate about her sheep.
Lorraine – check out the mail order details above.
Anna – It is no secret that stress has an adverse effect on meat, so it is worth avoiding for that alone, really.
Spot on Amanda, truly its not just the NGOs and animal rights activists who care for their food. I must admit that I haven’t cared as much as I should.
It is good to see people raising the bar and doing what feels right inside. Thank you for sharing
Amanda, this is a really wonderful story, thank you. After all the stuff in the press recently, it’s great to read about good people with a conscience doing what they can.
hi amanda – thanks for visiting – found your post interesting – while I don’t eat meat because I am squeamish about the facts, I admire those who eat meat and can cope with how it gets to your plate – there are some I know who just don’t want to know about it. It would seem a far nicer world if those who ate meat, ate the sort of meat that Savannah Lamb produce.
Another great and timely post Amanda – thanks. I am keen to buy free-range meat that guarantees the animal was humanely treated (hard to find – thinking of the broad definition of ‘free-range’ chicken here) so it’s great to know of some specific places that I can feel confident about (and of course fabulous that they are right here in SA).
Dear all,
Apologies its taken so long for me to respond to all your wonderful posts on Amanda’s fantastic blog. We love lambs ears & Honey 🙂
Firstly, yes, we do care for our lambs – ALOT! and we love them all as much as possible (even when they run through your legs or smack you in the face unwillingly!) Our hand fed friends are all doing well, and the wind/weather shelters are holding up in this freeeezing weather.
Our orders are available for consumers in Adelaide and we do deliver to your door. We are working on retail locations with several butchers too. Please email me on mprince@activ8.net.au if you’d like an order form or would like more information.
Look out while Clare Valley is reinventing itself as a wonderful food and farming bowl – back to our roots in Agriculture, and thank you Amanda for writing such lovely words.
Indonesia is a mixed bag of sadness and economic stress for our counterparts up North, although we don’t condone live export we especially don’t want to see the cruelty we all did that horrible Monday night. We have friends who are being crippled by the ban, and we hope there’s a way that everyone can end up winning – especially our four legged friends!
Happy Lambs = Great Meat.
Michele