THIS YOUNG BULL had been rather unfortunately splattered, but he didn’t seem too bothered as he ambled across his market pen for a look at us. Bulls and cows like to come up and have a look at you, and at first Kevin was suprised (unnerved might be a better word) at how friendly they seemed to be. This animal, of the Limousin breed, was about 20 months old. I guessed that he was being sold as a “store” - an animal sold to someone who will fatten and sell it for slaughter If he was to be eaten as beef, this would need to happen before he was 30 months old. Post-BSE regulations state that as only cattle over 30 months can contract the disease, only those younger can enter the food chain. Not visible here was his large yellow ear tag, on which were recorded the numbers of his herd and his passport. All British cattle now have their own individual passports and paper work, stored on a national database, to make them traceable•
