Some 100,000 dairy calves were killed last year because they were the wrong sex, new figures have suggested.

The statistics, from The Calf Forum, were released ahead of Channel 4 show Jimmy and the Giant Supermarket (29 May), in which farmer Jimmy Doherty tried to get Tesco to stock higher-welfare meats, including veal.

Dairy bull calves are often shot because only the female progeny are deemed to be of value.