FOLLOW
DAIRY COW
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MILK
The Cost of Milk
The size of the total cattle herd in the UK - including both dairy and beef animals - is around 10 million. Of these, 1.8 million are adult dairy cows.
In order to produce commercial quantities of milk, dairy cows are forced to endure a constant cycle of pregnancies. Lactation does not occur unless this cycle is perpetuated.
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Where does milk come from?
The baby calf
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Slaughter
Cows would naturally live for as long as 25 years, but by the time they reach four or five on modern farms, they are likely to be physically exhausted, lame and infertile. These worn-out animals are sent to a slaughterhouse. handling, transport, and slaughter add to their suffering and distress. Cows are social, complex animals with the ability to nurture friendships, anticipate the future, and experience pain, fear, and anxiety.
Is it natural?
Dairy cows in the UK are typically black and white Holstein/Friesians, genetically selected to provide maximum milk yields. In an unfettered state, a cow will feed her calf for approximately six to eight months. Milk is secreted at a maximum rate of about eight to ten litres per day, which the calf suckles on four to six occasions. The mother produces less than 1,000 litres throughout the duration of her lactation, storing approximately two litres in her udders at any one time.
In modern dairy farming, cows can be expected to produce between 6,000 and 12,000 litres during their 10 month lactation. This means she may be carrying in excess of 20 litres at any one time - ten times as much as would be required for her calf.
AROUND
20% OF BRITISH DAIRY COWS
ARE LAME AT ANY ONE TIME
Where do they live?
Dairy cows are usually kept outside on pasture for the duration of the summer months. For the remainder of the year they are kept indoors, typically in concrete cubicle houses. Each cow has a cubicle to stand or lie in, which should have straw or wood shavings provided. Behind each animal a passageway collects urine and faeces, requiring cleaning twice daily. Accumulated waste is stored in huge slurry lagoons, later to be spread on the land.
Many cubicles still in use were designed decades ago and have become too small for the modern, larger animal. This has compounded welfare problems, resulting in cows standing in the dunging passageway. It also has major health implications.
The Baby Calves
Calves are usually removed from their mothers within 24 hours of birth, after suckling their mother's first antibody-rich milk, known as colostrum. Separation of mother and infant causes acute anxiety and suffering for both animals. Mother cows have been known to break out of fields and then walk for miles to be reunited with calves taken to auction.
The calves' fate is one of the industry's dirty secrets. Each year, nearly half a million unwanted calves are born in the UK. Many females replace their worn-out mothers in the dairy herd. But the males are often regarded as waste by-products. Some are transported long distances to continental veal farms, others are killed within a week or two for baby food, or for cheese and pie ingredients. Some are simply shot in the head shortly after birth. Under normal circumstances, mothers teach their young critical survival skills and develop very deep bonds, much like humans.
