The bull

I have always lived in Worcestershire, it is as they say, in my bones. It is a very beautiful county and if you stand on any hill you can see for miles as the scenery undulates into rises and dips as far as the eye can see.

As a child, one of my friends lived on a farm. It was a medium sized farm and even then farmers often needed to diversify. So this farm had heifers, pigs, rabbits, chickens, fields of grain and pet ponies. One day my friend invited me to see a young calf. The calf had been parted from his mother and was ready to step into the world on his own. He stood proudly in his own stall and I stroked him - I completely melted when he looked at me with the biggest of eyes. I wondered why he was in the stall and not out on the main pasture. The answer surprised me - apparently all young male calves have to be inspected by a vet and if they do not pass the vet's inspection then they are castrated and become bullocks. This particular little male was so handsome (handsome being one of the things that a vet looks for) he would surely be allowed to spend his life as a bull. My friend said she had been told that it was that very fact that might make the vet reject him ... this little 'bull' calf had beautiful big eyes with the longest of lashes. We waited for several days for the vet to arrive and every time I stroked him I hoped that he would be all right and allowed to grow into a full sized bull.

The vet eventually came ... he inspected the little calf but shook his head sadly he couldn't allow the little calf to become a breeding bull and so the little animal was castrated and sold. I can't tell you how sad this made me ... it's a good job that I'm not a farmer - I think farmers must have some very unhappy days! :(

Little note: heifers are female cattle that are bred for the meat industry they are sometimes allowed to have one calf before they are slaughtered. Bullocks are male cattle that have been castrated and reared for meat production. Female cattle that are allowed to calf more than once are used for milk production. Bulls are male cattle that show the finest characteristics of a particular breed and are used to fertilise cattle of the same breed to retain the best features of that specific breed.