Dairy farming is responsible for suffering on a huge scale. Over 2.6 million cows are used for their milk every year in the UK. On every single one of the 8,000 UK dairy producers there is a cycle of suffering taking place.

Cows in Action 3: The Roman Moo-stery (Cows In Action, 9)

Currently, an estimated 16% of UK dairy farms have adopted the zero-graze system and the number, sadly, is expected to grow. Not only that, but the dairy industry is pushing our planet to its limits. Like all animal agriculture, it is a driving force behind species extinction, deforestation, water scarcity, land overuse and global antibiotic resistance. Producing a glass of dairy milk every day for a year needs land as large as the size of two tennis courts - that’s ten times the land needed for oat milk. However, while the shooting on-farm may have been banned by the majority of retailers and dairy producers, the fate of these innocent animals has not changed as they are still being killed. For the remainder of the year, most cows are confined in small sheds with no access to the outdoors. Here, these social and intelligent animals are not able to fulfil their needs and express their natural behaviours, causing them great distress. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical MomentsWith 1 in 3 Brits now reported to be consuming plant-based milks on a regular basis, the nation is stepping away from supporting this industry. This is unsurprising, since the UK prides itself on being a nation of animal lovers and the world is all too aware of the climate catastrophe that is already rearing its ugly head. Due to increasing pressure from the public and animal welfare organisations, retailers have started to implement new rules to limit the killing of male calves, which were planned to come into force by the end of 2021. The dairy industry even admits that this practise is extremely problematic, calling it an ‘own goal’: The majority of cows in the UK are stunned with a captive-bolt pistol. Once stunned they are hung upside down by one leg, lifted onto an overhead conveyor and moved to the ‘bleed area’. Here their throats are cut and they are left to bleed out. Stunning can be ineffective and some cows have their throats cut while still conscious. Dairy Fact 4: Cows In The Dairy Industry Could Never See A Pasture

Cows In Action 9: The Victorian Moo-ders (Cows In Action, 11)

We have an incredible opportunity to remake our food system. By shifting subsidies from the dairy industry to support plant-based alternatives, and by providing financial support for farmers to transition to arable farming or land rewilding programmes, we can futureproof farmers’ jobs and create a kinder, more sustainable world in the process.In a zero-graze system, a cow is not allowed to graze or be outdoors on the grass. Instead, she is fed silage (wet, fermented grass) and a high concentrate mix of cereal, soya, sunflower meal and maize.

Cows in Action: The Battle for Christmoos - Scholastic Cows in Action: The Battle for Christmoos - Scholastic

And some don’t even get six months outside. Because the industry is constantly looking for ways to increase profits, a new system – referred to as ‘zero-graze’ – has been introduced in the UK and it is being used more and more frequently. According to a 2020 report, every year in the UK an estimated 60,000 male calves– approximately 15% of all male calves born in the dairy industry – were shot on-farm. The process of artificial insemination is distressing, as she is forced into a confined space where a farmer inserts an inseminating gun in her vagina to deposit sperm. While doing this, the farmer inserts one arm in the cow’s anus to manually manipulate her reproductive organs. However, in dairy farms – whether small-scale, certified organic or intensive – the milk she produces will not be given to her baby, as it will instead be bottled up for human consumption. And so, her calf is separated from her and swapped for a milking machine which is attached to her teats.

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Stop cow and calf separation Dairy Fact 7: Mastitis and Lameness Are Common Health Issues that Cows Develop