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Kelvin Fletcher Confronts Lamb Euthanasia and Heavy Pig Auction Losses

The TV episode showed medical welfare choices combined with weak market prices can make small-scale farming financially and emotionally unsustainable.

Overview

  • The ITVX episode, which aired Monday, showed Kelvin Fletcher accept a vet’s recommendation to euthanise a newborn lamb after the animal suffered a high hip injury that vets said was untreatable.
  • Kelvin and Liz took a batch of pigs to a local auction and received low bids that left some animals selling for about £70 each against roughly £150 in feed costs, creating an estimated loss of around £80 per pig.
  • Kelvin was visibly upset on camera and described feeling 'a bit defeated' after making the euthanasia decision and returning from the market to break the news to Liz.
  • Earlier in the same episode the couple welcomed cattle to their Cheshire farm and had earlier sent two sheep to slaughter as part of routine livestock management decisions.
  • The episode highlights two wider pressures on small and hobby farms: tight margins from volatile auction prices and the emotional strain of making animal welfare decisions, which could force more farmers to reconsider finishing stock or selling at market.