Kelvin Fletcher and his wife, Liz, were left emotional as the moment arrived for the pair to part ways with their treasured cow, who had been with them since he was a calf
Kelvin Fletcher and his wife, Liz, bid farewell to their cherished cow, Sonic, in a poignant yet “bittersweet” scene on ITV Fletcher’s Family Farm.
During a previous episode, Kelvin revealed he was readying Sonic to be sent for slaughter, having moved him into the barn.
However, in the most recent instalment, the moment arrived for the pair to part ways with their treasured cow, who had been with them since he was a calf, reports the Mirror.
Capturing the heartfelt moment, Kelvin said, “The day has arrived to say goodbye to our first ever calf, Sonic, who’s heading off on his final journey.
“This morning, we’re taking Sonic to, well, there’s no best way to say, I guess, to slaughter really. Sonic is going. So, yeah, bittersweet, really. It’s a bit of a weird one.”
“I was thinking about this last night, and I woke up this morning feeling a bit… it is different to a sheep.”
The ex-soap star continued, “I think it makes it even more difficult because we have got seven cows, and he was our first. You know, his tag number is 001, he’s our first cow. So, I guess we’ll always remember this one.
“We’ll always remember Sonic,” Kelvin said before adding, “They say the first is always the hardest, and then, who knows.”
The farmer noted that since Sonic was their first calf, the occasion felt “especially emotional.”
As Kelvin detailed how he and Liz had to get Sonic ready for slaughter, he remarked: “There’s a lot of pride.
“You know, we’ve reared him, and he’s had a great life. We feel that we’ve done really well with him; he’s in fantastic condition, he’s a show winner, and we’ve experienced a lot with him, being our first calf, taking him to the Cheshire show, and performing so well.
“We’ve got so many amazing memories from him and it’s a privilege when you get to see the full circle, really, and, yeah, it’ll be a real appreciation of when you do have the meat, and not only do we sell that meat, but we’re selling it to people you know, with cared and love for that animal.
“And that’s what you want. You want to have a connection with your food. You want to honour your food and honour the work that’s got into that, and honour the life that’s provided that food.”
As Sonic was ushered onto the trailer, Kelvin confessed to “feeling really anxious”. He said, “Just talking about it, that was one thing, and then loading him in and getting him in for the final time is a bit surreal.”
