The truth about Dairy. 

The NZ Dairy Industry is responsible for over 2 million calves and up to 1 million cows being sent for slaughter every year in NZ.

 

The myth: Animals don't die to produce milk, its natural that cows give milk.

The reality: Cows like all other mammals need to have been pregnant with a baby to produce milk.  It is a myth that all cows will just automatically produce milk because they are cows.  Just like us and all other mammals, only cows that have been pregnant, given birth or lost a baby close to delivery term will produce milk.  In order to ensure cows are kept in milk production, they are impregnated and forced to calve "give birth to a calf" yearly. These calves are the "by-product" or unwanted babies from impregnated dairy cows, these calves make up the millions of NZ slaughtered babies disposed of yearly by farmers within the NZ Dairy Industry. 

In NZ during 2014/2015 over 1 million cows and during 2013/2014 over 2 million calves were slaughtered (MPI statistics). These lives are in addition to the victims also killed by the beef and veal industries and those calves and cows killed by farmers and other private individuals. 

 

NZ dairy cows are impregnanted to ensure they give birth to a calf and produce milk. In 2011 over 70% of cows in NZ were artificially inseminated (NZ Dairy statistics). In NZ Cows are pregnant approximately 9 months generally starting as 2 year olds, and giving birth July to September each year. After giving birth cows are reimpregnated on average 1-3 months after calving (LIC website) to keep the cows in a cycle of pregnancy, calving (birth of calves) and lactating (producing milk).

 

Domestic cows whose live span can reach up to 20 years naturally,  on average reach only 5-6 years on NZ dairy farms (NZ Dairy statistics). The highest percentage of survival for lactating cows are 3-4 year olds and 4-5 year olds, after this age the chances of their survival diminishes. Those cows who are "non productive" are slaughtered. According to statistics NZ during the 2013/14 year over 1 million cows were slaughtered in NZ.  Non productive cows include those with fertility issues , health problems, those exhausted after several years of forced continual preganancies and milking or those with milk production decline or cows the farmer simply can't afford to feed or care for any longer. All cows confined in Dairy farms will eventually be trucked off to slaughter or slaughtered by farmers or private individuals.  

 

Bobby calf is the name given to the calves born of dairy herd cows. They are separated from their mothers and at 4 days of age many including those not kept for "replacement" dairy cows or "vealers" are sent off on truck and trailors to the "the works" to be slaughtered. During 2013/14 over 2 million of these babies were trucked from farms all around NZ to be killed, this number does not include those killed by farmers or by private individuals.

Bobby calves only come into existence to ensure their mother cows continue to produce milk and therefore as a result become unwanted "waste" or "by products" of the dairy industry.

For these poor bobby calves added to the distress they face with the separation from their mothers, the condemned bobby calves face the additional fear, stress and often brutal treatment during transportation and slaughter.  Bobby calves may be left on transport trucks for up to 12 hours before arrival at slaughter facilities and this is a perfectly legal treatment of baby animals who are not companion animals in NZ. 

 

If you still doubt that the Dairy Industry contributes to the meat industry an excerpt taken from an article on Agrihq nz's website discussing dairy contribution to export meat markets. "The increase in bobby calf collection and processing stems from the expanding dairy cow herd, the economics of calf rearing and some targeting of calves by meat companies. Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s economic service said the throughput in 12 months to the end of September (2012) was 1.89 million, up 11% compared with 1.7m the year before and 1.6m the year before that. Statistics New Zealand reported 17,400 tonnes of veal were exported in the 2012-13 meat season, of which 7700t went to the United States. Those numbers compared with 17,000t exported in 2011-12, 6200t to the US."

 

Up until recently calves could be "hammered" to death on farms by farmers as a method of killing them. Blunt force trauma method of killing is the term used. Simply it is hitting the calves on the head with a hammer until they become unconscious and die. It's often joked about on NZ farming pages by farmers, although non farmers will no doubt find the act upsetting and horrifying.  This has now been generally banned but may still be used in some circumstances (from the NZ Dairy website) "The Ministry for Primary Industries has banned the use of blunt force trauma (a blow to the head) as a method to routinely put down calves.  Blunt force trauma can only be used to humanely put down animals in unforeseen emergencies. The recent change makes it clearer what is an emergency and what the allowable methods are to put down calves on-farm.Allowable methods include the use of a firearm, captive bolt firearm or a vet-administered injection.  Farmers need to be trained and competent in these methods."

Online report of brutality of NZ Dairy industry

 

Do you still believe there is no suffering and death at the hands of the Dairy industry?

 

What can i do? 

The easiest change you can make to ensure there is a difference is to stop consuming animal based products including products from the dairy industry. Veganism promotes abstaining from the use of all animal based products and promotes a compassionate lifestyle.

There are a wealth of cruelty free alternatives to meat and dairy products FOR MORE INFORMATION>>>>