Quote:Professor John Webster, Department of Animal Husbandry, Bristol University says:
"The dairy cow is a supreme example of an overworked mother. She is the hardest working of all our farm animals and it can be scientifically calculated. It is equivalent to a jogger who goes out for six to eight hours a day which is a lunatic pursuit”. He states that almost 100 per cent of cows suffer from laminitis - a disease which causes 'great pain to the cow' (MAFF). Tissue lining of the foot becomes inflamed and may lead to ulcers. Professor Webster continues: "To understand the pain of laminitis it helps to imagine crushing your finger nails in the door then standing on your fingertips.
...The genetic manipulation and dietary controls which have led to their extraordinary output of milk carry with them a cost, all borne by the cow. She has a one-in-three chance of her udders secreting pus and painfully swelling with mastitis, and the antibiotics forced up her udders don't have much success in controlling the disease.
Because of the strain of carrying her oversized udders, she is likely to be amongst the one third of cows who are lame from foot and leg disorders. And her body consumes so much energy for milk production that her muscles simply waste away...the ugly truth is that a quarter of dairy cows are so exhausted by the process they never see their third year, despite having a life expectancy of 21 years or more. Most cows are killed at four to seven years, often pregnant when they die."
from http://www.factoryfarming.org.uk/dairy.html
see also:
The Life of a Dairy Cow
"Nightline" Exposed Dairy Cruelty
Undercover video showed cows abused at N.Y. dairy
The Humane Society of the United States
Quote:Contrary to the industry's advertising campaign filled with green pastures and happy cows, many of the nation's nine million dairy cows never step on a blade of grass in their lives.
Dairy's Dark Side: The Sour Truth about Milk
Quote:Far from leading the carefree lives portrayed in the dairy industry's "happy cow" commercials, the vast majority of cows used for dairy production today lead lives of deprivation, confinement, painful mutilations and cruel handling. These curious and intelligent animals are denied access to open pasture and treated as mere milk-producing machines - forced to live on manure-coated concrete floors in overcrowded sheds.
A new Mercy For Animals investigation is pulling back the curtains on the largest dairy factory farm in New York State – Willet Dairy in Locke. In early 2009 an MFA undercover investigator worked at the mega-dairy, secretly documenting egregious acts of animal cruelty, including neglect, with a hidden camera.
Evidence gathered during the investigation reveals:
Cows with bloody open wounds, prolapsed uteruses, pus-filled infections, and swollen joints, apparently left to suffer without veterinary care
"Downed" cows – those too sick or injured to even stand – left to suffer for weeks before dying or being killed
Workers hitting, kicking, punching, and electric-shocking cows and calves
Calves having their horns burned off without painkillers, as a worker shoved his fingers into the calves' eyes to restrain them
Calves having their tails cut off - a painful practice opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association
Newborn calves forcibly dragged away from their mothers by their legs, causing emotional distress to both mother and calf
Cows living in overcrowded sheds on manure-coated concrete flooring
Workers injecting cows with a controversial bovine growth hormone, used to increase milk production
...Sadly, the inhumane conditions uncovered at this factory farm are not isolated. Whether raised for meat, dairy or eggs, animals used in food production are frequently subjected to appalling confinement, mutilations, brutal handling and slaughter. Because agribusiness values profit over ethical principles, cruelty to animals continues to run rampant on factory farms.
Thankfully, compassionate consumers can choose to withdraw their support of these abusive industries by adopting a vegan diet. Each time we eat we can choose kindness over cruelty.