The dairy industry is no less cruel than the meat industry

In Italy, every year, more than 2 million cows are exploited in the dairy industry.The suffering these animals suffer must stop.

Animal Equality investigated the production system of over 140 farms of cows raised for their milk around the world revealing the industry's darkest secrets.

Although the opposite is commonly believed, extreme exploitation hides behind milk production of these animals.Throughout their lives, most cows in fact it lives in zero-grazing systems.This means they will never see a blade of grass or step on a lawn.

As we have documented through our investigations, in the sheds where the cows They are forced to stand for long periods of time on hard floors, often leaving their hooves neglected and infected, leaving many cows profoundly debilitated.

The milk market

To respond to the market's demand for milk, the dairy industry subjects animals to an exaggerated production rate that causes them stress and suffering.Prisoner of an exhausting cycle of artificial inseminations, pregnancies, births and milk production, cows develop serious illnesses or physical ailments as a result of which they often die or are so weakened that they are culled.The milk that should be intended to their puppies ends up bottled in supermarkets, while cows lose the possibility of being in contact with their calves.

Usually only a few hours after giving birth calves are taken away from their mothers so that the milk can be used for human consumption.This separation is very painful for both of them.During the investigations conducted by Animal Equality, our investigators documented newborn cows and calves calling each other desperately for hours or searching in vain.

While the young calves are locked inside cages where they come from force fed with a milk replacer to then take their mothers' place in the production chain, newborn male calves are instead destined for the meat supply chain.According to ISTAT data, in 2022, 544,557 calves under eight months old were slaughtered in Italy.

Buffalo milk

Cows are not the only prisoners in this cycle of suffering. Hoaxes in Italy experience the same suffering within the industry for the production of buffalo milk, mozzarella and other dairy products.We revealed the terrible conditions in which these animals are forced to live with our investigation “An all-Italian hoax”, in which we also revealed how male buffalo calves came to be abandoned to die of hunger and thirst amidst atrocious suffering.

This is because – unlike veal – buffalo meat has little economic value.Only a small part of the male buffaloes, therefore, is left to live, for reproductive purposes or to be destined for consumption meat, while the other puppies are often abandoned to die by breeders because they are considered useless for production.

This is all unacceptable.Exploitation within the dairy industry is no less than that which underlies the meat industry, even if this aspect is often forgotten, underestimated or even denied.Stop consuming animal products preferring alternatives vegetables it is the first, fundamental step that each of us can take every day to stop financing these cruelties.