Dairy farmers and industry groups have been quick to condemn the actions of a ''minority'' involved in mistreating bobby calves.
Secretly-filmed footage, showing cruel treatment of calves on dairy farms and by transport companies and slaughterhouse workers, sparked an outcry when it screened on TV One's Sunday programme.
Social media was rife yesterday with comments from farmers condemning the actions while spokesmen from dairy industry bodies said they were ''appalled''.
North Otago dairy farmer Lyndon Strang said ''tens of thousands'' of dairy farmers were ''out there doing the right thing''.
''The vast majority of dairy farmers I know of adhere by all animal welfare codes. Whether an animal is on a farm for four days or four years, you should treat it with respect and by the code.
''The message I'd like to get out is there is going to be extremes in every industry ... what we saw on the Sunday programme was an extreme in the dairy industry and it's not general practice,'' Mr Strang said.
DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle said cruel and illegal practices were in no way condoned or accepted by the industry as part of dairy farming.
''We are shocked and farmers are too. We will be asking questions of everyone involved. Farmers don't see what goes on when calves leave their farm and we need to be holding the transport operators and processing plants to account to ensure bad practices get stamped out of our industry.''
DairyNZ surveys showed 95% of farmers were compliant with all animal welfare codes and the industry body wanted to see that even higher.
A range of industry initiatives were already in place and DairyNZ would be boosting its actions with other groups to ensure the care of calves, Dr Mackle said.
Federated Farmers dairy section chairman Andrew Hoggard said the ''appalling'' behaviour would not be tolerated.
''Federated Farmers strongly, and each season, reinforces to its members that the highest standards of animal welfare must apply when dealing with all calves. The federation will also put resources behind any industry initiatives to review the handling, transport and processing of bobby calves,'' Mr Hoggard said.
The Ministry for Primary Industries confirmed yesterday it began an investigation into the alleged mistreatment of the calves immediately after it was provided footage by Farmwatch in mid-September.
The nature of the footage aired on the programme was unacceptable, MPI deputy director general regulation and assurance Scott Gallacher said.
While MPI could not comment on the specifics of the investigation as it might prejudice the outcome, the codes of welfare concerning bobby calves were clear on the following issues: it was not acceptable to throw, kick or hit animals; using blunt force to euthanise bobby calves was unlawful except in emergency situations; calves must be well fed, have comfortable accommodation and be fed within two hours of being transported; and people transporting calves needed to make sure they did not cause any unreasonable pain or distress, he said.
The maximum penalty for wilful ill-treatment is five years' jail and a $100,000 fine for an individual and $500,000 for a company.
