SummerSkye
13-10-2007, 05:29 AM
I was reading the post on CL about the battery hens the other day and noticed how it touched on milk and the dairy industry so I thought I would start a thread on here about it too. Please note this is from personal observations and from Australia.
We have lived in dairy country for the past 20 years or more, not owning a dairy but becoming friends with farmers and observing how the dairy actually works. In Queensland our neighbours' farm was well run and the animals well looked after. Admittedly all calves were taken from their mothers at about 3 days old. Females were usually kept and grown on to be either sold or used as replacement heifers. Males were invariably sent on 'the calf truck' which took them to the abattoirs. The cows all became very upset when this truck appeared, they knew it meant their offspring were being taken away. Cows would bellow for nights once the calves were taken, it was quite upsetting. On the whole however the cows were content, well fed and lived out long lives. The female owner especially, became very attached to her cows and was extremely upset if they became sick or worse.
Here, in the southernmost part of Australia the dairy industry is harsher. There is less feed (grass) available and cows are outside in quite terrible weather with no shelter. Often there are cases of extreme cruelty in the news where herds have been left starving especially near winter's end. The cow's lifespan is much shorter and the farmers seem to treat the herd more harshly; the dairy farms are much larger and more of a business operation than a family run farm. To observe the cows on a daily basis makes me angry at the way they are treated. Everything today, worldwide seems to be based on making a profit for shareholders, the animals welfare is not considered, or if it is it is not enough. I can not see a bottle of milk now without thinking of the suffering of these animals.
We have lived in dairy country for the past 20 years or more, not owning a dairy but becoming friends with farmers and observing how the dairy actually works. In Queensland our neighbours' farm was well run and the animals well looked after. Admittedly all calves were taken from their mothers at about 3 days old. Females were usually kept and grown on to be either sold or used as replacement heifers. Males were invariably sent on 'the calf truck' which took them to the abattoirs. The cows all became very upset when this truck appeared, they knew it meant their offspring were being taken away. Cows would bellow for nights once the calves were taken, it was quite upsetting. On the whole however the cows were content, well fed and lived out long lives. The female owner especially, became very attached to her cows and was extremely upset if they became sick or worse.
Here, in the southernmost part of Australia the dairy industry is harsher. There is less feed (grass) available and cows are outside in quite terrible weather with no shelter. Often there are cases of extreme cruelty in the news where herds have been left starving especially near winter's end. The cow's lifespan is much shorter and the farmers seem to treat the herd more harshly; the dairy farms are much larger and more of a business operation than a family run farm. To observe the cows on a daily basis makes me angry at the way they are treated. Everything today, worldwide seems to be based on making a profit for shareholders, the animals welfare is not considered, or if it is it is not enough. I can not see a bottle of milk now without thinking of the suffering of these animals.