Calves sought for an 18 month ‘remand’ in Loughan House and Shelton Abbey

GALWAY dairy farmers over the coming weeks are being asked to consider sending a calf to jail for 18 months before ‘deportation’ to a third world African country.

The scheme which has been up and running for a number of years involves inmates of two Irish prisons raising dairy heifers before being donated to families in a number of African countries.

Bóthar – the well known agri charity – are hoping to source 40 calves in their Spring Calf Appeal that they launched last week.

Inmates of Shelton Abbey (Wicklow) and Loughan House (Cavan) will rear the calves for the next 18 months before they will be donated to needy African families.

Dairy heifers raised for African families by inmates in the two Irish prisons will deliver yields 20-times that of local breeds in the impoverished communities that they are sent to, according to Bóthar.

The heifers are impregnated before being sent to the African famililes and after calving they are capable of delivering up to 20 litres (4.3 gallons) of milk per day.

 “Our Spring Calf Appeal is unquestionably the most impactful of all our campaigns because so many benefit. The people who so generously either donate the calves directly or raise money to purchase them, benefit from knowing what they are doing is changing lives, and the inmates who raise them benefit hugely from the sense of giving back something,” said David Moloney from Bóthar.

 He said that the ones who benefited the most were, of course, the recipient families themselves as these in-calf heifers can have yields 20-times that of local heifers.  Local heifers deliver approximately one litre of milk per day in African communities – just about enough to feed their own calves.

 Calves donated by farmers, schools and community groups from all over the country will be brought to the prisons, where there will be reared by inmates for the next 18 months. Once they mature, they will be airlifted to needy families in developing countries in Africa.

 Over the last four years, more than 200 calves have been generously donated to the ‘Spring Calf Appeal’ by farmers, business people, schools and community groups across the country.

 Anyone interested in donating a dairy calf to Bóthar between now and April 30, can contact Dave Moloney, Bóthar on 1800-268463 or email: dave@bothar.ie