According to the Vancouver Sun, more than one in four British Columbian dairy farms failed to comply with animal welfare codes over an 18-month period.
Obtained through freedom-of-information requests, reports from inspectors indicate that dairy farms in the B.C. area “showed overcrowding, lame or soiled cattle, tails accidentally torn off by machinery, branding and dehorning of calves without pain medication, cows lying on concrete, and failure to produce a manual outlining management practices on individual farms, reports the Sun.
Tom Hoogendoorn, an Agassiz dairy farmer and vice-chair of the B.C. Milk Marketing Board, said, “It shocked a lot of us. Hardened farmers were crying when they saw that. His colleague, board chair Jeremy Wiebe, added, “I felt sick to my stomach.
While these reactions may sound genuine, a 2014 hidden-camera video taken by an investigator for Mercy For Animals in Canada revealed sadistic animal abuse at Canada’s largest dairy factory farm in Chilliwack, B.C.
Watch.
On dairy farms, animal abuse is part of the business model. Cows are treated more like milking machines than feeling, living beings.
Many dairy farms cram thousands of animals into filthy sheds and concrete lots. Also, in order for a cow to continually produce milk she must be repeatedly impregnated. Once her calf is born, the baby is stolen from her so her milk can be sold. If the calf is male, he is sent off to a veal farm where he will be chained inside a crate so small he can barely move and slaughtered in weeks. Female calves are kept and raised for dairy.
Constantly giving birth takes a physical toll on the cows. The natural lifespan for a cow is 15–20 years, but according to the Sun, B.C. dairies sell off their cows for slaughter after only 2.5 years. This is likely due to neglect in addition to constant breeding.
Join the millions taking a stand against this cruel industry by switching to a compassionate, healthy, and delicious vegan diet. Enjoy one of the many plant-based dairy alternatives currently on the market. Click here to see our ultimate guide to nondairy milk.
Click here for tips on making the transition to a cruelty-free lifestyle.
