The above statement has been accepted in Scottish law to be true and has been used to prosecute a farmer. It was made by Procurator Fiscal David Howdle during the trial against Daniel Quinn on 17 November 1997.

It is however an intentional lie and one the Crown Office are more than willing to perpetuate as shown in Deputy Crown Agent, Bill Gilchrist’s letter of 10 October 2003. Mr Gilchrist states “It is not clear, whether, Volostrum is an adequate substitute for colostrum” and he goes on to state that “it does not contain the required antibodies which might be required by a calf’.

Information on Volostrum is readily available from Volac and completely contradicts what the Crown Office are saying, strengthening R Hill & Co’s claims that Procurator Fiscal David Howdle intentionally stole their cattle and that Deputy Crown Agent Bill Gilchrist is covering up.

Volac have provided scientific evidence to R Hill & Co that their product Volostrum does in fact contain anti-bodies namely immunoglobulin. There have also been controlled trials conducted by the Royal Veterinary College that showed conclusively that Volostrum supplied complete protection and energy for calves and was a more than adequate substitute for colostrum.

Background

Temporary Sheriff Jamie Gilmour fined Daniel Quinn £600 for failing to provide a Simmental cross heifer calf with adequate food and prompt veterinary care. This charge also contributed to his Community service and 3 year ban from keeping animals.

The temporary sheriff based his judgement on one statement made by procurator fiscal David Howdle which was that the Volac product ‘Volostrum’ which R Hill & Co were feeding the calf did not contain antibodies. As a result Danny was charged with not providing adequate food for the calf.

The statement was an un-substantiated lie to discredit the defence that Danny was providing the necessary care for the calf by feeding it Volac’s Volostrum and injecting it on a course of antibiotics. Earlier on in proceedings, David Howdle 'read-in' the charge relating to the calf and stated that "Such a calf would require sufficient and good quality colostrum from its mother. Colostrum is the first milk produced by the mother rich in immune bodies. It was reported that a substitute can be purchased if the mother cow is unable to supply it." After the defence stated to the court that Danny was indeed feeding the calf a colostrum substitute known as Volostrum, David Howdle responded with a blatant lie in order to secure the conviction.

Remember: R Hill & Co cattle had all been sold by the 18 June 1997 which was prior to the trial on the back of an ‘incidental warrant’ allegedly signed by Sheriff Fletcher. Therefore Daniel Quinn could be nothing but guilty or the consequences of a non-guilty verdict were un-imaginable for the procurator fiscal as there was no way he could recover Powhillon farm’s tenant’s cattle.
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This evidence has been given to Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary but apparently ‘perjury’ is not a matter for them to investigate according to ‘Acting’ Chief Inspector Kate Thomson.

Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary once again joined forces with the Crown Office to cover-up the illegal activity of the Procurator Fiscal. Just to clarify it was not a complaint regarding the conduct of the Procurator Fiscal. This was evidence that the Procurator Fiscal had indeed lied in court. Secondly it was not my 'view' as put by Kate Thomson, but was submitted as documented proof and accepted as such by her junior officers. Thirdly why would R Hill & Co take it to the Crown Office when Andrew Richardson of the law secretariat, Crown Office Policy group has clearly stated that criminal activity is a matter for the police to investigate?

The last letter received from ‘Acting’ Chief Inspector Kate Thomson was that she had taken it upon her own shoulders to pass it onto the Crown Office. The police force, have been reported to the HMIC as the complaints procedure has already been perverted by the Police Authority.

The response from Deputy Crown Agent Bill Gilchrist clearly demonstrates the perversion within the Scottish legal system and is an insight into how it operates. Instead of investigating the allegation that the Procurator Fiscal lied, Mr Gilchrist instantly rubbished our claims and proceeded to try and ‘clarify’ what Mr Howdle meant to say. However, Mr Gilchrist has only succeeded in compounding the insult to Volac and shown himself to be unfit for his position. In his ignorance he twists Mr Howdle’s statement from one which alleges that Volostrum does not have antibodies to one which alleges Volac have not manufactured Volostrum with the correct antibodies.

Colostrum substitute

Volostrum is a highly successful Colostrum substitute feed for calves. R Hill & Co were using the product on the advice of their vets as it is believed it can increase resistance to Bovine Viral Diarrhoea and give the baby calves some glimmer of hope in fighting the vile disease.

Colostrum is the pre-milk fluid produced from the mother's mammary glands during the first 72 hours after birth. Colostrum provides life-supporting immune and growth factors that insure the health and vitality of the newborn. Immunoglobulin G is one of primary active immune components. In a suckler herd each cow requires this for her own calf but when the mother can’t produce enough it is hard to obtain and substitutes such as Volostrum are vital.

R Hill & Co’s herd contracted Bovine Viral Diarrhoea in 1986 from an un-identified source. The disease has been observed throughout the world but as yet there isn't a cure for it. If you are unlucky enough to contract the disease you have to live with the losses, not sell infected animals and manage the herd as best you can until it eventually filters out.