King Charles III has gifted seven heifers, originally given to Queen Elizabeth II to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, to a Jersey dairy farmer who lost over 100 cattle in December 2022.
The in calf heifers were given to Charlie Le Boutillier of Woodlands Farm to assist with the re-stocking programme and in support of the Jersey dairy farming community.
Over 100 of Le Boutillier’s cows fell ill and died over a period of a few days in December last year. After laboratory testing, Jersey’s chief veterinary officer concluded that the most likely cause of death was botulism.
After the deaths, the carcasses were incinerated and milk from the affected herd did not enter the food chain.
At the time, Jersey Island’s Environment Minister, Jonathan Renouf, called it a “devastating loss”.
Eamon Fenlon, managing director of Jersey Dairy, dairy producers for the island, said he was “totally devastated” by what happened to the cows.
“Losing a part of a herd like this is heartbreaking. We can’t imagine how difficult this is for Charlie (farmer), his family and all at Woodlands,” he said at the time.
“Words cannot express the heartache we feel for them.”
King’s heifers
The Royal Jersey Agricultural & Horticultural Society (RJA&HS) and the Jersey Milk Marketing Board (JMMB) arranged to present the seven heifers to Queen Elizabeth II last year.
The group of maiden heifers represent a cross section of breeding from the leading herds in Jersey and remained in Jersey to be bred with the view to creating a lasting legacy within the Windsor herd of a breeding line that traces back into the heritage of the Jersey Herd Book and the origins of the Jersey breed.
Following the accession to the throne of King Charles III, arrangements were in hand for the shipping of the animals to Windsor, but the King decided to gift the cows to the island after the loss of cattle at Woodlands Farm.
The heifers were presented to the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey, Jerry Kyd, who, on behalf of the King, gifted them to the Le Boutillier family.
Jersey Dairy said the progeny of these animals will be recorded within the Jersey Herd Book with the affix ‘Platinum’ to their pedigree name to mark the deep links between the Sovereign and the Jersey breed in the Island.
