From fame to public condemnation: the singing farmer has no complaints

The terrible conditions of dairy cattle that led to their death, and the operatic voice, the light of concerts and the determination to pursue the priesthood. These are the two different transformations of Mindaugas Diliautas, a farmer, or rather a singer, that have sparked a lot of public debate in the past week.

The State Food and Veterinary Service (SVVT) has drawn attention to Diliautas' farm, stressing that this type of farming cannot be tolerated.

„Agrobitė“ reminds that after receiving a report about unattended livestock, the inspectors of the VMVT went to the village of Niaudavas (Radviliškis district) and found a shocking sight: in a barn with a caved-in roof, in the abundant dirt, they found the carcasses of 4 cattle.

The farm housed about 30 cattle in total – some of them were found in the field, others in the building. The VMVT has initiated administrative proceedings for possible animal torture.

The animals were handed over to another farmer in Radviliškis district, who will be paid €12.1 per day for the care of each dairy cow, and €6.05 per day for the care of a heifer. The total cost of caring for the herd will be around €260 per day. Following a review by specialists at the Institute of Animal Husbandry of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU), it was decided to add treatment for the cattle.

On 6 March, inspectors also visited another Diliautas farm with 22 cattle. Here, too, there were criticisms, but the farmer promised to remedy the shortcomings.

Journalists had difficulty contacting Mr Diliautas himself. Only LRT journalists were able to do so, when Diliautas expressed his anger at the seizure of the cattle and promised to appeal the decision in court.

„So every morning, every evening, I drive, I feed and water and milk and do everything myself. <...> I work without any holidays, without any respite, even when I am sick I go to the animals. People don't see that, for example, when it was minus 30, I was outside chopping bales of hay with an axe. Well, I don't blame myself," the farmer told LRT.

The story of the Diliautas dairy farm has been widely condemned by the public. At the same time, the farmer has his fans because of his musical activities.  

It is also interesting to note that Diliautas, who became famous in the musical projects "Lithuanian Voice" and "Star Duets", had previously decided to seek the priesthood. He entered a seminary and later went to a monastery in France where he lived and studied in a religious community. After a while, however, he gave up his aspirations for the priesthood and began to study opera singing.