A report on the UK Dairy
Industry
The Life of a Modern Dairy Cow
Fig. 5. Most dairy cows in Britain are impregnated by
artificial insemination and the semen production industry is now big
business
The modern dairy cow’s life bears little resemblance to that of her
wild relatives. Every aspect of her life is manipulated to maximise milk
yield, inevitably at the expense of her health and welfare. According to
John Webster, Emeritus Professor of Animal Husbandry at Bristol University’s
Clinical Veterinary Science department:
“The dairy cow is exposed to more abnormal physiological
demands than any other class of farm animal”, making her “a
supreme example of an overworked mother.” (6, 7)
Cows are mammals who, like us, produce milk in their mammary glands to feed
their young. They therefore must give birth to a calf in order to produce
milk and must be re-impregnated every year to keep that milk supply going
(4, 6, 7). Most dairy heifers are impregnated for the first time when they
are between 15 and 18 months old, giving birth to their first calf nine months
later (4). Most dairy herds in the UK are now artificially inseminated (AI)
as this is much cheaper than keeping a bull and allows farmers to select
the sire from a variety of breeds (4). AI is now in fact a very lucrative
business, with the dairy farming sector split between farms which produce
milk and farms which produce semen (25). The use of more invasive practices
such as multiple ovulation therapy and embryo transfer is increasing steadily
in the UK and the rest of Europe (26). These techniques are discussed further
in Sex and the Single Cow.
Although a cow would naturally suckle her calf for nine months to a year,
calves born on dairy farms are taken away from their mothers within a few
days of birth – so that we can drink the milk that was meant to nourish
the calves (7, 22). A strong mother/infant bond is formed between cow and
calf within the first few hours of birth, making their separation extremely
traumatic (27). Both the cow and calf bellow and show obvious signs of
distress when they are separated, often continuing for several days, leaving
those within earshot in no doubt that it is a harrowing experience for
both (6, 7, 23, 27). The cow will be re-impregnated two to three months
after the calf is removed and forced to endure this heartbreak again and
again, every year until she is worn out (4). Professor John Webster describes
the removal of the calf as the ‘most potentially distressing incident in
the life of the dairy cow’ (28). The fate of her calves is
outlined in Calves – Unwanted By-products.
Because she is re-impregnated while still lactating from the previous pregnancy,
a dairy cow spends seven months of every year simultaneously pregnant and
producing large quantities of milk. This enormous physical demand requires
her to eat over four times more food per day than a beef cow at pasture (7).
Her average milk yield will be between 30-50 litres a day, 10 times more
than a calf would drink, so her udder is forced to work unnaturally hard
(29). In addition, a calf would normally feed five to six times a day so
that the maximum amount of milk in her udder at any one time would be around
two litres (29). But on modern dairy farms a cow is milked only twice a day,
allowing milk to accumulate in the udder and forcing her to carry around
20 litres of milk or more (6). This greatly enlarged udder leads to lameness
in her hind legs and predisposes her to mastitis (a painful infection of
the udder) (7).
Her only rest from this demanding workload is during the last two months
of her pregnancy when she is ‘dried off’ in preparation for calving – then
the whole cycle starts again (4). This gruelling cycle takes its toll on
her body, and according to Professor Webster:
“. . . a depressing number are culled after only two to three
lactations because they are worn out, either through complete loss of body
tissue (emaciation), or breakdown of the udder tissues, or chronic lameness.” (29)
The problems of malnutrition, lameness and mastitis are discussed further
in Suffering in Silence.
The dairy cow’s physical problems are compounded by being kept indoors
for six months of the year. The majority of dairy herds in the UK graze from
April to October and spend the rest of the year housed indoors in cubicle
units (30). There are even some dairy farms in Britain that have adopted
the USA’s zero-grazing system where cows spend their entire lives indoors
(7). According to DEFRA:
“Today’s cows have outgrown the type and dimensions
of winter cubicles, the majority of which were built in the 60s and 70s,
so that cows are now too large to be comfortable.” (30)
This is a result of the switch from British Friesians, who average 550kg,
to Holsteins, who average 700kg, as the dominant dairy breed. Many cows simply
do not fit in the cubicles and their hind legs protrude into the slurry passage
behind them, while some find the cubicles so uncomfortable that they choose
to lay in the slurry covered aisles instead (3). The social hierarchy within
the herd can also contribute to problems in indoor housing units as lower
ranking cows often choose not to lie in cubicles next to dominant cows and
instead lie in the aisles or slurry passage (3).
While indoors, cows are fed a diet of silage (wet, fermented grass) and
high protein concentrate (a mixture of cereals, rape meal, sunflower meal,
maize and soya – a large percentage of which are GM) which add to their
troubles (7). Wet silage causes wet manure and the resulting poor hygiene
conditions contribute to mastitis and lameness (7). High protein concentrates
cause a build up of toxins in the cow’s system which causes laminitis
(inflammation of the tissue which lies below the outer horny wall of the
foot) a severely painful condition (see Suffering in Silence) (7).
For all of her hard work and suffering, what does the dairy cow get in
return? Shipped off to the slaughterhouse as soon as her milk yield
drops! Modern dairy farms are about maximising profit and minimising
overheads, which, according to Stuart Bacon - Britain's Dairy Farmer of
the Future 2005 - is achieved by 'culling out some of the poorer
performers' (31). These worn out cows endure a gruelling journey to
market where they are sold to fattening farms, before eventually being
sent to the slaughterhouse - ending up in 'low quality' beef products
like pies, burgers, soups and baby food.
For details on cattle slaughter methods in the UK, please see Viva!’s Sentenced
to Death report.
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Click
here for a video clip of a mother cow grooming her calf)
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