time,thelong-termhealthoftheanimalisirrelevant,solong
ashesurvivestobetakentomarket;andsoProvimiadvises
thatsweatingisasignthat“thecalfishealthyandgrowingat
capacity.”^101
Gettingthecalftoovereatishalfthebattle;theotherhalfis
ensuringthatasmuchaspossibleofwhathasbeeneatengoes
toward putting on weight. Confining the calf so that he cannot
exerciseisonerequirementforachievingthisaim.Keeping
thebarnwarmalsocontributestoit,sinceacoldcalfburns
caloriesjusttokeepwarm.Evenwarmcalvesintheirstalls
areapttobecomerestless,however,fortheyhavenothingto
doalldayexceptattheirtwomealtimes.ADutchresearcher
has written:
Vealcalvessufferfromtheinabilitytodosomething....The
food-intake of a veal calf takes only 20 minutes a day!
Besidesthatthereisnothingtheanimalcando....Onecan
observe teeth grinding, tail wagging, tongue swaying and
otherstereotypebehavior....Suchstereotypemovementscan
be regarded as a reaction to a lack of occupation.^102
Toreducetherestlessnessoftheirboredcalves,manyveal
producersleavetheanimalsinthedarkatalltimes,except
whentheyarebeingfed.Sincethevealshedsarenormally
windowless,thissimplymeansturningoffthelights.Thusthe
calves,already missing most ofthe affection,activity,and
stimulationthattheirnaturesrequire,aredeprivedofvisual
stimulationand ofcontactwith othercalvesfor morethan
twenty-two hoursout of every twenty-four.Illnesses have
been found to be more persistent in dark sheds.^103