For a cow to produce milk she must first give birth to a calf. This means dairy cows are impregnated every year in order to keep a continuous milk supply.
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https://www.whitelies.org.uk/animal-welfare/milk-production-due-pregnancy
https://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm-animals/cows/dairy-cows/
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Impregnating dairy cows is done through artificial insemination, a process in which semen is first obtained from a bull before being injected inside the uterus of the female dairy cow. The farmer does this by inserting his arm inside the cow’s anus and holding the cervix in place before sliding a needle through the cervix and injecting the semen inside of her.
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https://www.whitelies.org.uk/sites/default/files/dairy_report.pdf - pg. 13
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Calves would naturally feed from their mothers for around 9 months to a year, but dairy calves are taken away from their mothers normally within 24 - 72 hours of birth, in order for the farmer to ensure as much milk as possible can be acquired from the mother.
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https://www.whitelies.org.uk/sites/default/files/dairy_report.pdf - pg. 9
https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/5235185/the-life-of-dairy-cows.pdf - pg. 1
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Separation of mother and child is an incredibly traumatic experience - and both will cry out for days.
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https://www.viva.org.uk/blog/do-farmed-animals-weep
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Female calves are separated from their mothers and are kept in solitary confinement. Legally, calves are only meant to be kept in confinement crates for 8 weeks, however it has been documented that on UK farms the calves are kept in confinement for as long as 6 months.
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http://www.animalequality.net/node/983
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Dairy cows have been modified to produce up to 10 times more milk than they would naturally.
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https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/5235185/the-life-of-dairy-cows.pdf
30 % of UK dairy cows have mastitis, a bacterial infection of the udder.
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Dairy cows are sent to slaughter after around 4 - 6 years, or when they are too weak to continue producing milk. Their natural lifespan is around 25 years.
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https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/5235185/the-life-of-dairy-cows.pdf
150,000 dairy cows are slaughtered whilst still pregnant in the UK each year.
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https://www.viva.org.uk/what-we-do/pregnant-cow-massacre/briefing-notes
Male calves are of no use to the dairy industry and generally less suitable for beef production. This means that every year around 90,000 male dairy calves are shot soon after birth and discarded as a by-product.
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Male calves that are not shot will instead be raised for veal either in the UK or in Europe, meaning that the calves have to endure, long, traumatic journeys as they’re either exported out of the country to their deaths or to slaughterhouses here in the UK.
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Most calves raised in the UK have to endure painful mutilations such as castration and disbudding. Disbudding is a procedure where a calf is restrained and has a hot iron rod forced onto their horn buds in order to prevent their horns from growing.
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https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/3816892/for-their-own-good.pdf - pg. 17
Calves that are suitable to be raised for beef will be sold at livestock markets, an extremely stressful environment where the calves are auctioned off and then taken to cattle farms.
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https://www.viva.org.uk/dark-side-dairy/calves-%E2%80%93-unwanted-products
Over 50% of dairy cows suffer from crippling lameness and pressure sores - and some cows are forced to wear chains called hobbles for months at a time. These devices are used on mother cows who have suffered pelvic damage during calving, a frequently documented problem for dairy cows who have been selectively bred to ensure maximum milk production.
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https://www.ufaw.org.uk/why-ufaws-work-is-important/lameness
UK farmers have been documented kicking mother cows and beating and throwing new-born calves.
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Around 50% of UK beef comes from dairy cows whilst the remainder comes from cattle reared for beef.
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http://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/half-uk-beef-comes-dairy-herd/
In almost all cattle farms the cows are kept in housing for at least some part of the year and in many cases cows are raised in intensive farms where they are denied access to the outside for their entire lives.
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