The lives of cows on factory farms

Why care about cows?

Cows are amazing animals with unique characters and qualities. They are able to form strong bonds with others, have a great memory, and have even been seen swimming! For more amazing facts about cows, check out our blog.

In the UK, farmed cows are raised in different systems depending on their breed.

Dairy cows are more likely to be kept in factory farm conditions for most of their lives, because milking is a mechanised process. Cows raised for meat typically graze on pasture - except during winter, when they are likely to be housed indoors - but industrial feedlot systems for fattening cows before slaughter do exist in the UK, too.

While these animals are likely to have very different experiences in either system, both the dairy and meat industries cause great suffering to these gentle animals in different ways.

What are factory farms?

Factory farms are a form of intensive farming that keeps animals crowded together indoors. In the US, these systems are also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (or CAFOs). Though this term isn’t commonly used in the UK, there are an increasing number of farms that house large numbers of animals in barren indoor spaces, causing the animals notable stress.

Factory farming aims to maximise profits and produce as much meat, eggs, or dairy as possible, at the expense of animal welfare.

What percentage of cows are factory farmed?

When thinking of cows in the UK, you probably picture them out in a field, munching on grass. While both dairy cows and cows raised for meat will typically spend part of their lives outdoors, this is only part of the story.

Zero grazing dairy farms are becoming increasingly common in the UK, with around 20% of the national dairy herd now living inside sheds year-round. There are also around 21 dairy “mega farms” housing at least 700 cows, and three industrial beef cow feedlots with about 1000 animals each.

How are cows treated on factory farms?

Sadly, several undercover investigations have revealed that cows not only suffer from living in unsuitable intensive conditions, but some also endure terrible abuse and neglect.

In 2022, undercover footage shot by an investigator for Animal Equality, featured on an episode of BBC Panorama, caused national outrage. ​Workers hit and kicked cows, and failed to get prompt veterinary care for animals in need. A different investigation at another farm showed cows looking thin and struggling to walk. They were also abused by farm workers. Both of these farms were certified by Red Tractor, which is meant to ensure animals are raised to high welfare standards.

Why do factory farmers give animals routine antibiotics?

The routine use of antibiotics on farms is to prevent disease outbreaks. Factory farms create perfect conditions for diseases to spread among animals who are closely packed together and are often stressed, causing compromised health and immune responses.

While the EU has banned the routine use of antibiotics since 2022, the UK has not yet adopted the same ban. Currently, 30% of all antibiotic use in the UK is for farmed animals.

What are the impacts of factory farms on cow welfare?

Lameness in dairy cows

Cows can experience lameness due to bacterial infections that can cause painful conditions such as hoof lesions and ulcers, leaving them struggling to walk.

Poor quality floors and being forced to stand for too long, as well as ineffective foot trimming and poor nutrition, can also cause lameness. In the UK, around a third of dairy cows may be suffering from lameness at any given time.

Dairy cows separated from their calves

In order to produce milk, female dairy cows must give birth to a calf every year. These calves are then taken away from their mothers within just a few hours or days of being born, causing a great deal of suffering to the mother and her baby.

Cows, like us, are emotionally complex animals who form strong bonds with one another. For the calves, being forcefully taken from their mothers has been shown to cause nutritional, social, physical, and psychological stress.

Mastitis

Modern cows have been selectively bred to produce more milk than ever before. At an average of 22 litres per day, each cow now produces more than double what they would have 40 years ago.

Cows producing such high volumes of milk are more prone to mastitis, a common infection in the mammary glands caused by bacteria that enter a cow’s teats from the environment, (particularly due to milking machines that are not cleaned properly between milkings). Mastitis causes painful inflammation of the udder and can even lead to death.

Inadequate living conditions

As zero-grazing systems become more prevalent, more dairy cows are spending their whole lives indoors. This prevents them from engaging in natural behaviours such as grazing, walking freely, and forming bonds with each other.

What happens to male calves?

Male calves are typically considered worthless to the dairy industry. Historically many have been routinely shot soon after being born. Roughly 60,000 male calves are killed at birth each year in the UK, though the industry recently started trying to phase out the practice.

For those not immediately killed, many male calves will be raised for veal. As veal isn’t a common dish in the UK, calves are often exported, with several thousand transported at just a few weeks of age to farms in other countries. These highly stressful journeys can take longer than six days, before the animals then end up on farms in countries with little-to-no consideration for, nor laws regarding, animal welfare.

Thankfully, a ban on live exports of animals for fattening or slaughter has now become law in the UK. But many other countries continue to export unweaned calves on horrific journeys.

The other alternative to killing or exporting calves is for dairy farmers to sell them off to be raised for meat. Some producers are also trying to limit the number of male calves being born on their farms by using sexed semen. However, this of course doesn’t help the female calves, who will still be forced into the same brutal reproductive lives and deaths as their mothers.

The bottom line

Though cows in the UK get to spend some of their lives out on pasture, there are many aspects of dairy farming and raising cows for meat that cause great suffering and stress for the animals. One of the most impactful things we can do to reduce this suffering is to cut out or reduce our own consumption of beef and dairy products.

You can also join us, as we continue to fight for animals raised on factory farms.