OUR ANIMALS
At Horizon Grazing our number one passion is the welfare of our cattle. We are so very fortunate to have a practicing Veterinarian on our team to ensure that we raise our livestock in the most ethical way possible. Some may think it contradictory for us to be passionate about animal welfare and at the same time be raising cattle ultimately for human consumption, however we disagree. We strongly believe that it is most essential that ethically minded graziers, those who understand the intricacies of managing the health and well-being of not only their cattle but also their land, are the ones who raise our nations cattle. People who genuinely care about their cattle and who work hard to ensure that every day of our animals lives, right up until the last one, is as pleasant as possible. People who deeply respect and are connected to their animals, and who are proactive guardians of their welfare. People such as our family.
We are passionate about the land we live on and the animals we raise.
THE FIVE FREEDOMS
The universally accepted rule of thumb for high animal welfare are the five freedoms. We follow these like gospel as the well being of our cattle is our first and foremost priority.
1. Freedom from hunger and thirst: We have access to high quality artesian bore water and provide ample drinking troughs that are regularly cleaned for our cattle so they never have to walk too far to get a drink. Our property is naturally covered with Flinders and Mitchell grass, both of which are exceptional native pastures and provide high quality nutrition to our cattle. We manage our grasses and cattle numbers very carefully to ensure that even in the dry years our cattle have the nutrition that they require.
2. Freedom from discomfort: This freedom refers to ensuring that there is appropriate shelter and comfortable resting areas; not a problem for us! The wide expanses of our paddocks mean our cattle can choose to rest wherever they would like, as they would in the wild, no risk of crowding or discomfort here.
3. Freedom from pain injury or disease: Anyone who has kept animals both pets and farm animals are going to have to deal with illness and or injury, that is life. However very few farms have their own resident vet ensuring the best possible care straight away. We have nursed many sick animals to recovery, splinted calf legs, assisted cows with calving, stitched up injuries, taught cows to walk again and the list goes on. As prevention is always better than cure we also follow best husbandry practices such as vaccination to minimise disease risk. Any necessary procedures that we do that may cause pain such as branding (which is required by QLD law) and dehorning (which we try to prevent by only purchasing polled (no horns) bulls, but if horns are present then dehorning is necessary for welfare reasons as big horns are dangerous) we administer both long and short acting pain relief (local anaesthesia and anti inflammatories) to minimise their discomfort as much as possible.
4. Freedom to express normal behaviour: The definition for this is ‘by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind’. Well we have this one covered. Our facilities are top notch, our cattle always run in mobs with other cattle and as for space, we have oodles! The greater majority of beef available for consumers to purchase spend all or part of their lives in small paddocks or in feedlots. Whereas our cattle spend their entire lives living freely in massive paddocks with wide horizons. You will find it very hard to purchase beef that has lived more natural than our cattle, which is why we started Horizon Grazing; to give conscientious consumers a different choice!
5. Freedom from fear and distress: We are going to sound like a broken record here, but with big paddocks to roam, minimal handling, living on the one property their entire life; there is absolutely nothing that causes undue fear or distress in the regular days of our cattle. What about at the end of their lives you may ask? And it is a very important question. We use a local butcher, to minimise time on trucks. As they are a small family business they have the time to treat each individual animal with the upmost respect.
We love to care for our cattle and want them to live as nature intended, free to roam and graze naturally. Horizon Grazing gives us that opportunity, by allowing us to sell our beef directly to you, the consumer, we can ensure the best care of our cattle from our farm to your front door. By supporting our business you are supporting better welfare of beef cattle, and that is our passion. So please, be conscientious and buy Horizon Grazing Beef!
