Welfare issues for dairy cows

Given a natural healthy life, cows can live for twenty years or more. High yielding dairy cows will last for only around a quarter of that time. They are usually culled after three lactations because they are chronically lame or infertile.

Lameness, mastitis and infertility

Milk is heavy and a dairy cow may be carrying several extra kilos of milk in her udders. This can force her hind legs into an unnatural position, making walking difficult, and can result in moderate or severe lameness. It can also make standing and lying down difficult and uncomfortable.

Mastitis is a painful udder infection that is prevalent among dairy cows. In a herd of 100 cows in the UK, there could be as many as 70 cases of mastitis every year on average. Housing cows for long periods increases the prevalence of mastitis.

Infertility among high yielding dairy cows is increasing. It has been linked to stress, poor condition and the demands of high milk production on the cow’s general health.

Housing

Cows kept indoors have less opportunity to act naturally and exercise. Poor ventilation and high humidity increase the risk and spread of infection. These factors are likely to have an adverse effect on their health.

Hard concrete flooring can cause foot damage and is more painful for lame cows to stand and walk on. Zero-grazing systems have been linked to increased lameness.

Some herds, including a number in the UK, are kept on bare slatted floors. These are uncomfortable for the cows to walk, stand or lie down on.

Diet

The diet of high yielding cows has relatively little fibrous content and is inappropriate for their type of digestive system. This leads to acidity in the part of the stomach, known as the ‘rumen’. This can lead to acidosis and painful lameness from laminitis.

In the US, dairy cows are still given growth hormones to increase milk yield. This is illegal in the EU.

Surplus dairy calves

In commercial farming, nearly all calves are taken away from their mother shortly after birth. This causes severe distress to both the cow and the calf. This has long-term effects on the calf’s physical and social development.

In the UK, the majority of surplus male dairy calves are either shot at birth or sold on for rearing in Europe. Calves are vulnerable at this age and are not well-adapted to cope with the stress of long distance transport.

Slaughtering dairy cows

When dairy cows come to the end of their productive life, they are often transported long distances. This is because few slaughterhouses deal with the low grade meat they provide.

There are more humane alternatives that take into account the welfare of the cow.